ABSTRACT
Thus, tracing transactions in this underground banking system is impossible without inside information. Penetrating such an operation is always difficult due to the emphasis on trusting relationships, almost invariably within a single ethnic group:
Liargovas and Repousis (2011) studied the Greece-Albania remittance corridor. Albanians constitute the largest foreign community in Greece, and 46% of remitting immigrants reside in Greece. Remittance is a self-standing industry different from banking. Remittances are low value and often onetime activities. Remittances are sent to rural areas, where large banks tend
not to be present. The money may be derived from drug trafficking, illegal arms sales, body part trade, corruption, tax evasion and all kinds of fraud, and moved as remittances through hawala networks.
