All About Pinarayi Vijayan's Statement On Hawala Money In Malappuram

In a recent interview with The Hindu, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that the opposition forces accuse the state government of being soft on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Vijayan claimed that other extremist elements promote communal divisions within the state. For instance, when the state government acts against Muslim extremists, the opposition and the “extremist elements” change the narrative to project that the government was attacking the Muslim community, said the Kerala CM.

Citing an example, the state chief minister said that 150 kg of gold and hawala money, worth Rs 123 crore, were seized by the state police in the last five years from Malappuram district, where the dominant population comprises Muslims.

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He further said, “This money is entering Kerala for “anti-state” and “anti-national activities,” as quoted by The Hindu.

However, not all of the 150 kg of gold and hawala money have been seized from Malappuram. Although a significant majority of the hawala funds have been seized from the Malappuram district, as per Kerala police data, many of the hawala funds have been seized from other districts in Kerala.

In an OnManorama report dated March 21, 2024, the state intelligence received information that hawala transactions amounting to Rs 264 crore had taken place in Kerala within the span of two months.

The state intelligence received the information from Malappuram, Kasaragod, Kollam, Kannur, Kozhikode, and Thrissur districts.

According to an ETV Bharat report dated June 20, 2023, Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials said that hawala transactions worth around Rs 50 crore are conducted daily under the guise of business companies in Kochi.

The ED reportedly said that hawala transactions of more than Rs 10,000 crore were conducted in Kerala via more than 20 hawala operators in several districts in Kerala. The ETV Bharat report also said that according to ED officials, Kochi is the most important centre for hawala transactions in Kerala.

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Hawala is an informal way of transferring money without any physical money actually moving. Hawala transactions in India are illegal under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).