Chichester Man Indicted for Operating a $25 Million Hawala

<p>CONCORD – Ramzi Al-Shawafi, 47, a Chichester resident, was&nbsp;<a href="http://justice.gov/usao-nh/media/1460151/dl">indicted</a> for Operating an Unlicensed Money Transmitting Business that moved over $25 million, U.S. Attorney Erin Creegan announces. Al-Shawafi will appear in federal court on September 16, 2026.&nbsp;</p><p>According to the indictment, for several years Al-Shawafi operated a “hawala” and worked with individuals in Yemen to coordinate the transfer of money between the United States and Yemen. A hawala is a type of informal money transfer system that uses a network of agents to transfer money across international borders without using the banking system, typically to circumvent banking laws and regulations.</p><p>Al-Shawafi operated dozens of bank accounts across many financial institutions over the last few years. The bank accounts were in the names of businesses he directly or indirectly controlled, including but not limited to Razl Trading, RA Broker, and several convenience stores. Al-Shawafi used these accounts to move over $25 million to Yemen.</p><p>The charge of Operating an Unlicensed Money Transmitting Business provides a sentence of up to 5 years in prison, up to 3 years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.</p><p>The FBI and IRS Criminal Investigations are leading the investigation.&nbsp; The U.S. Postal Inspection Service and Department of Commerce’s Office of Export Enforcement provided valuable assistance. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander S. Chen is prosecuting the case.</p><p>The details contained in the charging documents are allegations.&nbsp; The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.</p>