Hawala cash being pumped in ahead of polls to UP, Punjab

New Delhi, Jan 16: With the upcoming Assembly Elections paving the way for a huge inflow in illicit cash flowing in through hawala networks mostly to places like Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, intelligence and enforcement agencies have found that the bulk of transactions being carried out is through places like Delhi, Jalandhar and Azamgarh.

Sources have revealed that the entire hawala operation is being carried out in a clandestine manner by a network of international hawala operators. The agencies suspect the role of new players in the market who are not under the agencies surveillance. A usual recce of the “usual suspects” in Delhi yielded no results, causing suspicion among investigative bodies.

The Election Commission and enforcement agencies estimate that over 10,000 crores of black money is likely to be pumped into UP polls alone, it also considers that a chunk of the money will flow in through hawala channels.

The agencies are keeping a hawk's eye to suspects in Azamgarh in UP, since they are considered to have close links with hawala dealers in the Gulf. They also suspect that the money entering Azamgarh is being filtered through Dubai, Mauritius and Cyprus. The fact is that a major part of the hawala money is unaccounted wealth stashed overseas which is finding its way to poll-bound states.

Intelligence agencies are closely watching Jalandhar in Punjab, which is the middle of the cash-rich Doaba region with suspicions that a lot of people who hail from here work in the Gulf sector. It is considered that they are sending money to fund the elections. A top enforcement official has been quoted as saying, "These rich NRIs have relatives and friends who are contesting elections, so they are sending money to help."

OneIndia News