Finally Home Minister admits-‘ Hawala rackets linked with Terrorist’s’

 Hawala groups have anti-national links, says Kodiyeri

Pioneer News Service | Thiruvananthapuram

Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan has said that as per the assumption of State Intelligence, there are reasons to believe that hawala money transaction groups have links with anti-national forces and counterfeit currency-producing gangs.

An analysis of the recently detected hawala cases had brought to light that majority of the money transacted was counterfeit currency produced either in the State or in foreign countries, Balakrishnan told the Assembly on Tuesday.

The Minister made the statement following the High Court criticism of police for not taking action against persons responsible for hawala transaction involving a sum of Rs 40 lakh in Malappuram district. It was suspected that hawala transaction to a tune of Rs 10,000 crore was taking place in the State every year in the last six to seven years, he said.

He said that the racket strengthened after the Centre’s new Foreign Exchange Management Act came into force in 2000. The Act took away the power of the State police to directly interfere in these money transactions, he said.

Asking the relatives of those working in foreign countries to be vigilant, he said that the hawala chain was trying to distribute counterfeit currency. The Minister said it was also suspected that the State hawala chain had connection with other criminal activities. Some organisations were also under scrutiny to know whether they had any links with the hawala racket, he said.

It had come to the Government’s notice that murders were also taking place to steal the hawala money. Criminal gangs specialised in robbing the hawala money when it was being transported, were also growing in the State, he said.

These gangs would become more active as people refused to lodge complaint with the police when hawala money was looted, he said. To step up investigation and monitoring of the hawala racket, a new mechanism had been put in place by strengthening the State Intelligence wing, he said.

A monitoring cell under the Additional Director General of Police (Intelligence) would be formed soon to regularly monitor the hawala cases, he said. Special police teams to probe hawala related cases would be set up at district levels also.

The political connection of persons arrested in the recent hawala case involving Rs 40 lakh in Malappuram was also under investigation. A special squad would inquire into these aspects, the Minister added.