I can show u a way to send money from the US to my mom in India with absolutely no trace of the moneys origin or destination or transfer. Research the word Hawala.
Absolutely. Hawala networks operation throughout the Mid-East are one of the aspects on unraveling the financial support system that we've not spent sufficient resources on, IMO. It's so complicated, and pervasive, that frankly we just don't know how to deal with it.
I mean.. who can fault people for not trusting banks? Many Muslims really don't believe in banks (and certainly don't believe in usury). So, from their perspective, the Hawala system is a legitimate, and ages old, method of transferring wealth.
Of course, I've never really understood what prevents a Hawala operation from screwing it's depositors and stealing their money. The only apparent restraint seems to be the strong family ties.
Btw Kumar, would you happen to know the normal "fee" Hawala users pay to transfer money? Just curious. I've heard a few different answers, but normally it seemed it was between 1 and 5%, depending upon the amount.
Hawk
|
