The Malarkey of Money Transfers: Overlooking E-Bay whilst the Hawaladars are Hunted

Informal Money Transfer systems represent one of several persistent loopholes in the fight against the War on Terror. Terrorist groups and criminal networks continue to use the Hawala system, as well as other informal transfer systems, to escape the regulatory and administrative control of formal international banking transactions. In an age where global financial regulation is underpinned by international agreement through Basel and others, the ongoing use of IVTs in Australia is cause for increasing concern. Yet Hawala is only half of the informal equation. E-bay and its associated bedfellows outstrip Hawala transfers through the same commercial imperative that drives the modern world, simply by doing business. This paper describes the escalating risk in Australian and International money transfers, and the need for a reconsideration of the prevention strategies that conceal the support for terrorist and criminal activities.