What the Hawala's Going On?

Blood From Stones

While The Washington Post's bureau chief in West Africa in 2001, Douglas Farah discovered al-Qaeda's diamond smuggling operations there. His coverage for the Post angered his hosts in West Africa and embarrassed U.S. intelligence officials. Forced to leave Africa and to defend his findings back in the United States, Farah continued his investigation. He's just published a book, Blood from Stones: The Secret Financial Network of Terror, that details his findings.

NPR article


Use of the USA PATRIOT Act

"... Informal Value Transfer Systems, such as 'Hawalas,' also present problems for law enforcement. They permit terrorists a means of transferring funds that is difficult to detect and trace. These informal systems are commonplace and appear to serve as an efficient means of transacting in mostly "cash" societies such as Pakistan, Afghanistan, and the Phillippines. In applying provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act we seek to erode the effectiveness of such methods..."