Hawala, hysteria and hegemony

The purpose of this paper is to highlight criticism of attempts to impose regulations on hawala and other informal value transfer systems (IVTSs), in light of their importance in the lives of people in the most vulnerable sectors of global society.

Review of scholarly, public‐policy, and legal literature on hawala and other IVTSs.

Most attempts to regulate hawala and other IVTSs seem redundant of existing regimes, or, worse, unreasonably punitive when their social utility is considered.

A contribution to the debate on the supposed need to regulate hawala and other IVTSs favored by the poorest and most vulnerable sectors of global society.