Edited by Sergio Silvestri

Recent news includes the Guardia di Finanza's Cash Away operation to dismantle an illegal network for collecting and transferring funds from Italy to abroad and vice versa, using hawala, an informal system based on the services and honor of a vast network of intermediaries. Hawala originated in the Islamic world: the Arabic word means "to exchange" or "to transform," and it is a system rooted in Islamic jurisprudence dating back to the 8th century. This system is widespread primarily in the Middle East, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, and South Asia, and was developed to transfer funds for legitimate purposes, eliminating the risks associated with international currency transport and providing support in all areas of the world where the banking system is lacking.

During the Cash Away operation, investigators determined that €100 million in financial transactions had been moved across 193 accounts used by members of the criminal organization, and that €3 million in false invoices had been issued. The system operated through the offsetting of financial transactions and the use of codes, known only to the individuals involved, that clients communicated to brokers to execute the transactions. For these services, the brokers earned a commission ranging between 2 and 5 percent. The brokers, investigators said, also handed over the sums received in cash from clients to compliant Italian businessmen. These then arranged wire transfers for equivalent amounts to third-party companies, both Italian and foreign, designated by the clients themselves, using a false invoice mechanism. The funds were laundered in the Czech Republic, Malaysia, France, Denmark, and Belgium.