Hawalas in Tikrit raided

Photo By Spc. Cal Turner | Iraqi security forces search men in front of a restaurant during an operation planned to disrupt insurgent finances Feb. 17, in Tikrit, Iraq.  

TIKRIT, IRAQ

02.17.2007

Courtesy Story

3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division

By Spc. Joshua R. Ford
3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division

TIKRIT, Iraq — It seemed like an ordinary Saturday in Tikrit before more than 150 U.S. Soldiers and Iraqi security forces in more than 30 gun trucks swarmed businesses throughout the city to disrupt insurgent financiers.

Several money exchanges, known as hawalas, were raided Feb. 17, resulting in seven individuals detained, three of whom the Iraqi government has been pursuing for some time. An assortment of documents and a significant amount of unregistered, unregulated Iraqi, Iranian and American currency was also confiscated.

Hawalas are typical for use among terrorists. Many national governments have been trying to shut down hawalas because of this reason.

A similar operation took place in the same area more than six months ago, resulting in the seizure of more than $10 million in U.S., Iraqi and Iranian currency.

Some of the recently raided hawalas were fronted by a legitimate business like a restaurant or an electronics shop. This was a way to make the crooked businesses look legal from the outside.

Hawala is Hindi for "in trust" which is a fitting name since each exchange is based on a trust system hawala owners – known as thakedars – around the world developed over years of business.

Hawalas have been in business around the world for centuries. This ancient method of transferring money has slowly migrated from transfer by donkey, to mail, and now transfers are commonly done by email or telephone.

An individual can put money in a hawala branch in Baghdad and with one call can pick that money up days, weeks, or even years later where ever a hawala of the same branch can be found.

Insurgents put their money in the exchanges because world governments' treasury departments have no idea the money exists making the transactions nearly impossible to monitor, said Capt. Greg Sakimura, commander, Company B, 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division.

There are many other reasons why insurgents use hawalas. Insurgents can get money transferred to them in different countries, there is no tax set on the money, the money is not accounted for by any government agency, and money-laundering laws can be broken easily, added Sakimura.

More than a year ago Iraq's central government addressed the people to inform them about the dangers that come with putting money in hawalas. After the announcement, many Iraqis withdrew their money.

Iraqi and American forces pay extra attention to those who still have their money in hawalas, because it is the number one way to transfer funds among terrorists, said Sakimura.

"Iraqi security forces will keep raiding the hawalas because of the large amounts of insurgent money that is in them," said 2nd Lt. Ansseif Jasim Muhamed, an Iraqi police officer in Tikrit. "We will take their money away to make things safer in Iraq."

"It was a great joint-operation," said Sakimura. "We were quick on securing the objective, and we found some of the guys we were looking for, which will lead to more intelligence leading to more operations."

The combined operation included Paratroopers from the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division and Iraqi security forces within Tikrit as well as other towns in Salah ad Din.

All worked side-by-side with great success in the end, said Muhamed.
"These people were illegally exchanging money between insurgents," said Sakimura. "What we did won't stop the insurgency but, it will damage it."

• Date Taken: 02.17.2007
• Date Posted: 03.05.2007 13:49
• Story ID: 9329
• Location: TIKRIT, IQ