Hawala dhamaka for Diwali

Cops say hawala racket flourishes during Diwali, involves transactions of Rs 10 cr in a month

Cops say hawala racket flourishes during Diwali, involves transactions of Rs 10 cr in a month

With the festive season of Diwali around, hawala racketeers have their hands full. According to the city police,u00a0 it is builders, developers and traders in the city who heavily rely on the 'hawala' way of money transfer, which peaks to a minimum of Rs 10 crore in a span of one month.

After hawala racketeers adopted a strategy of transporting and subsequently transferring the funds through luxury buses plying on the state highways, Pune rural police raided these buses in 2008. Recently, a cash of Rs 1.5 crore was recovered from one suspect who was later arrested. Pune district Police Superintendent Pratap Dighavkar had then said that the unaccounted money is being transferred through courier services from one state to another.

Diwali dealings
Another inspector said, "Usually Hawala transactions peak before and during the festive season when purchasing power of people is high. A large number of dealings take place ranging from small items to property deals. The average number of deals in a year is finished in a month's time. A minimum of Rs 10 crore is believed to be transferred through Hawala routes."

"Besides builders and developers, traders from the city who indulge in the Hawala racket mostly transfer cash funds from the state to Karnataka and other states, the officer added.

Couriers flourishing
Assistant Commissioner of Police (Crime) Prabhakar Patil said, "Several courier agencies and 'angadia' networks have flourished in the city in the prime market areas. Under the garb of such courier agencies, hawala transactions are being conducted."

u00a0When MiD DAY contacted several businessmen over the issue, they denied any knowledge about hawala money transfers.

"I don't know what hawala is," said a businessman under conditions of anonymity.u00a0

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