FATF Report on Digital Hawala and Underground Banking
Why in the news
The global anti-money-laundering watchdog warned that informal value-transfer channels are going digital, making them harder to police.
Key facts
- Body: Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
- Trend: hawala moving from traditional methods to technology-enabled systems.
- New term: “digital hawala”, from the mix of virtual assets and hawala.
- Risks: money laundering and terrorist financing.
| Finding | Detail |
|---|---|
| Survey coverage | Jurisdictions surveyed by FATF |
| Share reporting new tech in underground banking and hawala-type networks | Nearly 70% |
| Main threat | Professional money laundering and underground banking |
Way forward
- Stronger investigation of such networks.
- Tighter supervision.
- Closer international cooperation.
Exam angle
- Term to remember: digital hawala.
- Statistic: nearly 70% of surveyed jurisdictions.
- Issuing body: FATF.