Kinahan cartel among European gangs exploiting hawala network to launder hundreds of millions
A European investigation uncovered that the Kinahan cartel uses a WhatsApp-based hawala system to move hundreds of millions of euros across at least 25 countries.
Investigators revealed that a large WhatsApp chat, “Traders of Greater Europe,” links more than five hundred gang affiliates across Europe, using the centuries-old hawala method to shift cash without moving physical money. Europol’s financial unit describes the scheme as a parallel, trust-based banking system that evades official monitoring. The Kinahan cartel, highlighted as a primary user, allegedly funneled roughly €200 million through the network, with Johnny Morrisey - nicknamed “Johnny Cash” - detained in Spain pending trial.
Spanish, Irish, and US law-enforcement agencies participated in his 2022 arrest, and US sanctions target several family members. Europol’s Lucy Myles warned that dismantling these broker networks would strike at the financial lifeblood of organized crime.
Why it matters
It shows how organized crime sidesteps banks, threatening financial security and law-enforcement efforts worldwide.
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