Emirates News Agency – Abu Dhabi Criminal Court convicts 13 people, 7 companies for money laundering

ABU DHABI, 18th May, 2023 (WAM) — The Abu Dhabi Criminal Court, which has jurisdiction over money laundering and tax evasion offences, has convicted 13 Indian nationals and companies they owned of money laundering. They were found guilty of engaging in economic activities by providing credit facilities through point of sale (POS) without obtaining permission from the competent authorities. The total amount of money laundered was Dh510 million.

The court sentenced the four defendants who were present during the trial and the other fugitive defendants who were absent in their absence to prison terms ranging from 5 to 10 years and fines ranging from 5 to 10 million dirhams. The court also ordered the forfeiture of the confiscated funds and the deportation of the convicted persons after serving their sentences. Companies involved in these crimes were each fined Dh10 million.

Criminals set up a criminal organization to carry out economic activities without obtaining a license from the competent authorities, using the point of sale (POS) of several companies to provide credit facilities at the headquarters of a travel agency that was used as a vehicle for such criminal activities place. They made bogus purchases through the POS of companies created for this purpose, or through some defendants abusing the powers granted to them to process bank accounts of companies owned by third parties without the owner’s knowledge, in exchange for deductions for each withdrawal operation A percentage that benefits companies that own and use POS devices.

In addition, bank transaction reports and financial analysis issued by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) also showed that the bank accounts of the defendants and their companies had large inflows and outflows of funds within a short period of time, which is impossible within the law of their respective economies The framework of the activity, as well as the numerous financial operations performed on these accounts through deposits, withdrawals and transfers, are intended to conceal their origin.