HI all,
I'm forwarding this.
Peace,
Preston
>Last night on the CBS news, someone asked how bin Laden manages to hide his
money.
While we presumably don't know, a money laundering technique commonly used
in Pakistan - hence probably available to bin Laden - is hawala, a
pre-modern form of banking used in the subcontinent. Afghanistan supplies
heroin to the drug trade, proceeds from which are laundered through hawala.
QED: bin Laden's also using hawala would be consistent.
Here are some hawala links:
http://www.dawn.com/2001/06/23/top14.htm
"The report has identified three key sources of illicit funds: narcotics
trafficking, corruption and smuggling. Currently, the report admits that
there is very little production of narcotics in Pakistan but says that the
narcotics traffic organizations are active in this huge trade, trans-ship
drugs produced in Afghanistan and launder the proceeds abroad by means of
hawala (also called hundi) - an alternative remittances system. Pakistan
also remains an important country for the precursors or chemical acetic
anhydride destined for Afghanistan for heroin laboratories. "
http://www.usis.usemb.se/drugs/1998/money2.html
" The present state of political turmoil in Afghanistan, which has destroyed
most of the country's primitive banking infrastructure, is not conducive to
domestic money laundering. Afghanistan does play a key role in the heroin
trade, the proceeds of which appear to be laundered outside the country or
through the hawala alternative remittance system. Reports indicate that the
Taliban and other factions have been involved in narcotics trafficking. "
http://www.state.gov/g/inl/rls/nrcrpt/2000/index.cfm?docid=959
"The hawala (or hundi) alternative (or parallel) remittance system continues
to be a key factor in money laundering and other financial crimes committed
in and associated with South Asia. It is closely related to the "black" or
"off the books" economies in the region. The size of the underground
economies in South Asia are estimated to be 50 to 100 percent the size of
the "white" or "documented" economies.
Hawala operates on trust and connections ("trust" is one of several meanings
associated with the word "hawala"). Customers trust hawala "bankers" or
"operators" (known as hawaladars) who use their connections to facilitate
money movement worldwide. Hawala transfers take place with little, if any,
paper trail; and, when records are kept, they are usually kept in code.
Contrary to various media reports, hawala is an ancient system; it was the
primary money transfer mechanism used in South Asia prior to the
introduction of Western banking. Today, hawala continues to be used for many
legitimate transfers for cultural and financial reasons; and it also often
operates in conjunction with Western banking operations.
Dubai, India and Pakistan form a "hawala triangle" responsible for
significant international money laundering activities that go far beyond
South Asia. While interdiction of non-bank money laundering systems, such as
hawala, is difficult enough in itself, this difficulty is sometimes
compounded by ineffective money laundering countermeasures in Dubai and the
other Emirates. "
I have no specific information that bin Laden uses hawala, but using such a
system would defeat western high tech investigatory techniques.
Duncan C. Kinder
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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