Dozens of businesses involved in hawala money transfer have been visited by UK police to warn them about becoming involved with people smugglers.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) said it went to 44 premises across the UK, along with tax officials, in response to hawala brokers, who are classified as hawaladars, being increasingly linked to people smuggling crime. Hawala is a system that operates on a basis of transfer of value without actual movement of money and it relies heavily on trust between hawaladars and their customers, and within the networks themselves.
Known as hawala providers in the UAE, they are used by migrant workers to send remittances back home. UK authorities fear they are exploited by both people smugglers and migrants to arrange payments out of sight of law enforcement.
The move against abuse of the hawala system is the latest phase of government action to reduce small boat crossings across the English Channel and cut migration. Alex Murray, the NCA's Director Threat Leadership, said immigration crime is a “deadly threat” that led to more than 70 deaths in the Channel last year alone and that “criminal gangs are behind these crossings”. Mr Murray said the agency's 70 continuing investigations into people smuggling networks include going after those “who enable, support and financially benefit from this criminal activity”.
“Money service businesses provide an important service, and the vast majority are compliant with regulation,” he said. “However, it is absolutely key that all those who work in this sector remain vigilant, report suspicious activity, and play their part to stop this horrific crime. Those who don’t will be pursued and prosecuted as harshly as those directly involved in organising the crossings.”
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has instructed law enforcement to “smash the gangs” and tackle people smugglers using the same tactics as are used in dealing with terrorism.
As well as arrests in Iraq’s Kurdistan region under an agreement with the Iraqi government, the UK government has promised to impose sanctions on people smugglers and those who supply them with boats. But any effort to deal with financing of people smuggling will have to deal with criminals using the hawala system.
The most common way hawala works is that a person wanting to transfer money to a person in another country goes to a hawaladar to deposit the funds, along with a commission. The person is given a code or a password to pass on to the recipient of the funds. The hawaladar tells a trusted counterpart in the country where the money is to be transferred to hand over the cash on presentation of the code or password.
Using messaging apps, migrants can use the system to finance their journeys across thousands of miles without having to carry cash with them, while people smugglers can hide their profits and recycle them into legitimate businesses. Hawaladars depend on a steady stream of business and many operate money transfer as part of other businesses. For those involved in people smuggling this also acts as cover.
Iranian hawaladar Asghar Gheshalghian was jailed in the UK for eight years after being convicted of running an unregistered money services business that served people smuggling networks. Gheshalghian used a carpet-selling business as a front for his part of a network of bankers transferring money using the hawala system.
Kurdish people smugglers Dilshad Shamo, 41, and Ali Khdir, 40, who pleaded guilty to organising people smuggling at the end of last year, used the hawala system to take payments from migrants and arrange for smugglers to be paid. His conviction came after Hewa Rahimpur, who also acted as a hawala banker for people trafficking gangs and smuggled 10,000 migrants across the English Channel in small boats, earning up to £260,000 ($329,650) per trip, was sentenced to 11 years in a Belgian jail.
Louise MacDonald, deputy director of economic crime at HM Revenue and Customs Fraud Investigation Service, said that the “vast majority” of hawaladars want to avoid the people smuggling trade. “It is absolutely key that all those who work in this sector remain vigilant, report suspicious activity, and play their part to stop this horrific crime,” she said. “Those who don’t will be pursued and prosecuted as harshly as those directly involved in organising the crossings.”
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
How to become a Boglehead
Bogleheads follow simple investing philosophies to build their wealth and live better lives. Just follow these steps.
• Spend less than you earn and save the rest. You can do this by earning more, or being frugal. Better still, do both.
• Invest early, invest often. It takes time to grow your wealth on the stock market. The sooner you begin, the better.
• Choose the right level of risk. Don't gamble by investing in get-rich-quick schemes or high-risk plays. Don't play it too safe, either, by leaving long-term savings in cash.
• Diversify. Do not keep all your eggs in one basket. Spread your money between different companies, sectors, markets and asset classes such as bonds and property.
• Keep charges low. The biggest drag on investment performance is all the charges you pay to advisers and active fund managers.
• Keep it simple. Complexity is your enemy. You can build a balanced, diversified portfolio with just a handful of ETFs.
• Forget timing the market. Nobody knows where share prices will go next, so don't try to second-guess them.
• Stick with it. Do not sell up in a market crash. Use the opportunity to invest more at the lower price.
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Short-term let permits explained
Homeowners and tenants are allowed to list their properties for rental by registering through the Dubai Tourism website to obtain a permit.
Tenants also require a letter of no objection from their landlord before being allowed to list the property.
There is a cost of Dh1,590 before starting the process, with an additional licence fee of Dh300 per bedroom being rented in your home for the duration of the rental, which ranges from three months to a year.
Anyone hoping to list a property for rental must also provide a copy of their title deeds and Ejari, as well as their Emirates ID.
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 247hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 370Nm from 1,500-3,500rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 7.8L/100km
Price: from Dh94,900
On sale: now
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
PROFILE OF CURE.FIT
Started: July 2016
Founders: Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori
Based: Bangalore, India
Sector: Health & wellness
Size: 500 employees
Investment: $250 million
Investors: Accel, Oaktree Capital (US); Chiratae Ventures, Epiq Capital, Innoven Capital, Kalaari Capital, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Piramal Group’s Anand Piramal, Pratithi Investment Trust, Ratan Tata (India); and Unilever Ventures (Unilever’s global venture capital arm)
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sept 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
Trump v Khan
2016: Feud begins after Khan criticised Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban to US
2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks
2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit
2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”
2022: Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency
July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”
Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.
Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
Tell Me Who I Am
Director: Ed Perkins
Stars: Alex and Marcus Lewis
Four stars
