A WhatsApp group called Traders of Greater Europe with 532 members arranged cash transfers worth hundreds of millions of euros, according to an investigation by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) that includes the BBC. The group used the hawala system, an informal money‑transfer network that moves funds without electronic records. Transactions were typically over €5,000 and often much larger, with messages exchanged in Arabic to coordinate payments. Belgian investigating magistrate Vincent Guerra uncovered the chat after a 2024 court case convicted six money launderers, including Abu Adam, head of the network in Brussels. Police found on his phone about 6,000 photos of €5 notes and identity cards, indicating at least 12,000 transactions. The chat facilitated payments to the Islamic State in Syria as well as to people‑smuggling, drug‑trafficking and other criminal operations across Europe. Austrian authorities raided a hawala office in Vienna that operated from a kebab restaurant and charged two Syrian brothers with human trafficking and violent offences. Officials said the hawala system is the primary money‑laundering channel for organised crime, used for migrant smuggling, human trafficking, prostitution and other illicit activities. While hawala is illegal in most EU countries, it is legal in the United Kingdom if brokers are registered with HMRC.