Hyderabad: Hawala operators switch to digital mode as police steps up crackdown

Hyderabad: The recent crackdown on hawala rackets in the city involving crores of rupees has shown that hawala operators have swtiched to digital mode, with some organisers using specific codes to initiate transactions.

The ‘hawaldars’ or ‘human parcels’ would earlier carry out largescale transactions just by matching a serial number of a rupee note or by sticking together strategically torn notes.

Additional DCP, Commissioner’s Task Force, Chaitanya Kumar said, “In recent busts, we found them to be using emails and text messages. Since they trust their men, the torn notes and stricter methods are ceasing to exist.”

He said the police was not involved in these investigations as it they were about cash transactions, and was in the jurisdiction of the income-tax department.

Telugu Yuvatha president Vallabhaneni Anil, who was involved in a hawala bust by the Central Zone Task Force, has allegedly claimed that out of the Rs 60 lakh seized, only Rs 10 lakh was his and the money was not related to the elections.

Hawala is exchanging money without an official record, without paying taxes and bank charges. The two parties that exchange the money are known to each other, and mediators have minor roles.

Mr Chaitanya said hawala works without the physical movement of cash. “A person willing to transfer money contacts a hawala operator. The operator collects the money, calls his counterpart at the destination where the transfer is to be made. The operator at the other end hands over the cash to the intended recipient after deducting a certain amount as commission,” the official said.