PANews reported on January 20 that according to Decrypt, Indian Anurag Pramod Murarka was sentenced to 121 months in prison by a US court for laundering more than $20 million in criminal proceeds through global cryptocurrencies and the "Hawala" network. The case was sentenced by Gregory Van Tatenhove, a U.S. district judge for the Eastern District of Kentucky.

Murarka used aliases such as "elonmuskwhm" to provide money laundering services on the dark web market (April 2021 to September 2023), using encrypted communications to instruct customers to transfer crypto assets to designated wallets and then exchange the funds for cash through the Indian Hawala network. His team delivered cash to customers through covert methods such as books and envelopes.

An investigation by the FBI and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service revealed that Murarka knew his clients were involved in criminal activities such as drug trafficking and cyber hacking. After his arrest, law enforcement seized millions of illegal funds, prevented $1.4 million in financial fraud, and confiscated counterfeit drugs and equipment. Murarka will be subject to three years of supervised release after serving his sentence.

Hawala is an informal money transfer system that originated in ancient India and is widely used in the Middle East, South Asia and Africa. Its operation relies on a large network of brokers, allowing users to transfer funds without going through traditional financial institutions. This system is favored for its low cost, speed and convenience, especially in countries and regions where banking services are underdeveloped or capital flow is restricted.