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The Collectors Case

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Dossiers FinCrime · Episode 2 · 15 min

The Collectors Case: how hawala laundered millions of euros in drug money

France – Morocco: the invisible millions of the cannabis trade

A look back at the Daoudi case and its network of collectors: cash picked up city after city across France, a settlement system that moves value without moving the banknotes, and an exit into the financial system via Dubai.

The full case file

  • Cash from the drug trade : cannabis trafficking generates large volumes of cash in France at every stage of the chain.
  • Collection on the ground : collectors crisscross the country to pick up cash on behalf of the network. According to the prosecution, Abdelkrim Daoudi allegedly collected nearly €49 million; €943,050 in cash was seized when he was arrested in Besançon.
  • Hawala: a transfer without a transfer : an intermediary receives the money in one country, a correspondent pays out the equivalent in another, and positions are settled by offsetting.
  • Entering the financial system : part of the funds enters the banking system in Dubai and is then used, among other things, to pay Moroccan suppliers.
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  • Part of the scheme operates entirely outside the banking system: cooperation between customs, police and intelligence services becomes essential.
  • Cash-intensive businesses: deposits that don't match the actual business activity.
  • The points where flows resurface in the regulated financial system: source of funds, counterparties, geography, transaction patterns.
  • No single institution holds all the pieces of the puzzle.
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  • For banks : cash must remain consistent with the customer's declared activity.
  • For compliance officers : think beyond conventional banking and cross signals.
  • For regulators and investigators : a cross-border network calls for a cross-border response.
  • For everyone : money laundering does not create criminal money; it seeks to conceal where it comes from.
The Collectors Case, the lessons – visual 1 of 4The Collectors Case, the lessons – visual 2 of 4The Collectors Case, the lessons – visual 3 of 4The Collectors Case, the lessons – visual 4 of 4

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The cases covered are closed, with a known judicial outcome. The facts are drawn from court decisions and public sources.