Based on the study of numerous foreign and domestic sources, the authors of this article determine the essence of financial transactions through the hawala system. It has been revealed that this system is historically determined in nature, it was used, first of all, in the countries of the Near East, Middle East and South Asia in foreign trade operations in the framework of various directions of the so-called Silk Road. This system is also practiced in our days, however, in a slightly modified form, since globalization processes fixed in recent decades throughout the world have influenced its transformation. However, in addition to traditional trading activities, hawala was often used in the criminal activities of various modern organized criminal groups (OCG), including radical Islamists. In this regard, the study of the criminological features of financial transactions through the Hawala system has gained particular relevance. At the same time, the analysis of available sources indicates the insufficient scientific development of this subject. This is especially true of the Russian Federation, which has faced since the beginning of the 90s of XX century with deviations on its territory, including numerous sabotage and terrorist acts, which were often financed through Hawala. As for the domestic law enforcement system, the term “Hawala” itself began to be used only from the middle of the first decade of the new millennium. However, in practice, the situation with countering the financing of terrorism in this area is still not up to par. By the way, in the USA they began to pay attention to this problem only after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, but so far in this country it has not been possible to completely block unwanted financial flows.
terrorism financing, money or value transfer systems, money or value transfer services, informal money transfer systems, informal money transfer systems, hawala system, economic security, financial security.