BEg2 ch24 the file

[Michael Bailey]

“There are a dozen pages on attempts to follow the money through the hawala
setup Eric discovered, beginning with Bilhana Wa-ashifa Import-Export in
Bay Ridge, thence via the re-invoicing of shipments into the U.S. of
halvah, pistachios, geranium essence, chickpeas, several kinds of ras el
hanout, and shipments outbound of mobile telephones, MP3 players, and other
light electronics, DVDs, old Baywatch episodes in particular—these data,
assembled by some committee of the clue-challenged, alarmingly unacquainted
even with GAAP, all thrown together so haphazardly that after half an hour
Maxine’s eyeballs are rotating in opposite directions and she has no idea
if the document is meant as self-congratulation or some thickly disguised
confession of failure.”


Bilhana Wa-ashifa Import-Export in Bay Ridge appears to be fictional

Bay Ridge is a neighborhood in Brooklyn

Bilhana Wa-ashifa is an Arabic phrase meaning “with joy and good health,”
or something like “bon appetit”


Halvah - man, that’s tasty stuff!

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halva
“The name is used for referring to a huge variety of confections, with the
most geographically common variety based on toasted semolina….
“Halva can be kept at room temperature during non-summer months with little
risk of spoilage….
“ Most types of halva are relatively dense confections sweetened with sugar
or honey”

Geranium essence - skin toner among other things
https://soulfulsister.com/blogs/news/geranium-the-secret-to-beautiful-skin
Supposed to be good for healing scars. (Must try)

Ras el hanout - (Wikipedia)
The mixture usually consists of over a dozen spices, in different
proportions. Commonly used ingredients include *cardamom, cumin, clove,
cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, allspice, dry ginger, chili peppers, coriander
seed, peppercorn, sweet and hot paprika, fenugreek, and dry turmeric*

*https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/ras-el-hanout-101070
<https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/ras-el-hanout-101070>*

*Literally translated as “head of shop,” the Arabic phrase ras el hanout
really means “top shelf.” This version is a vibrant, earthy mix of eight
spices (plus salt) including cinnamon, cumin, coriander, allspice, black
pepper, and ginger*


Why indeed would hashslingrz be involved in such transactions? They seem
quite innocent.