FM ke hawaale hum saathiyon

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal"><span style="" font-style:="" italic="">How the Budget affects the hawala business </span><br /><br />Guess who''s bothered about the 0.1 per cent surcharge on cash withdrawals of Rs 10,000 and more? The hawala industry, that''s who! They are hoping that this decision will soon be rolled back. The surcharge is a cause of concern because the turnover of hawala money in Mumbai is Rs 90 - 100 crore per day!<br /><br />Sources in the business say that the hawala business will be the worst hit as a large part of the transaction is done through private banks. "The money is deposited in one particular account in a city and the same is withdrawn in another part of the country or abroad," says a hawala operator. He adds that many hawala operators have opened accounts on fake names and addresses in many private banks.<br /><br />Describing the modus operandi, he says that when approached by a client, the operator deposits cash in the account of his counterpart based in the city where the money has to be transferred. Once the money is deposited, the counterpart withdraws the same and hands it over to the concerned person there," says the operator.<br /><br />He explains those in the business charge 0.5 per cent or Rs 500 per lakh for transferring the money. The surcharge would increase the operator''s commission by 0.1 per cent. Sources say that the hawala transactions involve anything from Rs 50,000 - Rs 50 crore.<br /><br />Most operators feel that with the surcharge, the risk of getting caught would increase. "The government would keep a watch on those withdrawing huge cash at a time. The hawala operators now will have to switch banks and keep on changing accounts after a few transactions."<br /><span style="" font-style:="" italic="">manish.pachouly@timesgroup.com</span></div> </div>