9 jailed for 10 years, fined Dhs10m each in money laundering case

ABU DHABI: The Abu Dhabi Criminal Court, which has jurisdiction over money laundering and tax evasion offences, has convicted nine defendants and six companies for possessing Dhs18 million through fraudulent means using a computer-based process.

As for the criminal scheme, one of the defendants, operating from outside the country, would contact the victims, claiming to be working for foreign investment companies specialising in trading cryptocurrencies and promising them huge profits. He asked them to transfer money to company accounts inside the UAE to convince them of his claims.

Theaccusedpersonshavealsobeenprosecuted for money laundering through an organised criminal group, by transferring and concealing the truth of the proceeds of the predicate crime, possessing money and using it immediately upon receipt in internal bank transfers, depositing them in their bank accounts and then transferring them between the accounts of their companies to send the larger amount out of the country.

The court sentenced four of the accused of different nationalities in their presence and the other accused in absentia, to ten years imprisonment and a fine of Dhs10 million each, with deportation, once their sentences were served, except for the second accused. The court also sentenced the companies to a fine of Dhs50 million each, with the seizure of the funds involved in money laundering, whether it was cash in the accounts of the accused, or any of the material or moral assets belonging to them and resulting from money laundering, as well as the seizure of the proceeds and means used in the commission of the crime in any way whatsoever.

The discovery of this criminal activity, the arrest of the accused and their prosecution were made possible thanks to the effective measures of the various competent authorities, as part of the integrated efforts to combat money laundering and as part of the measures taken by the Central Bank and other financial institutions. It was also made possible thanks to the strength of the legislation and laws in force to combat this type of crime.

Regarding the details of the case and the modus operandi, several persons were conned by the fraudulent scheme and exhorted to invest in a shell company, which the accused claimed specialised in trading digital currencies and shares in the global markets. They were promised quick profits of up to 30 per cent in a week and periodically encouraged to raise the ceiling of their so-called investments to increase profits. However, a condition set for the disbursement of the said profits to pay a tax aroused the suspicions of one of the victims who tipped off the competent authorities.

The Abu Dhabi Public Prosecutor’s Office initiated investigations, which led, ater research and enquiries by the relevant authorities, to the discovery of a fraudulent organisation that specialised in swindling the victims and atempting to conceal their origin using inter-bank transfers. The monitoring of the movements of funds in the accounts of the accomplice companies generated suspicion about these bank operations, due to the rapid circulation of funds without economic justification or any supporting documents, which revealed the money laundering offences. The Public Prosecution Service, therefore, froze the accounts of the suspects and brought them before the competent court, which handed down the judgement.

On the other hand, Dubai Police arrested a European gang in less than 10 hours ater they robbed a car showroom and stole jewellery and watches worth Dhs13 million.

According to the General Department of Criminal Investigation in the gang specialised in burglary and jewellery thet.

Lieutenant General Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri, the Commander-in-chief, affirmed that the Department’s teams made great effort to arrest the gangsters and return the stolen items to their owners, despite the lack of evidence.

Al Marri said, “Thanks to the full readiness of the field teams and the good use of artificial intelligence techniques, the perpetrators were arrested in record time.”

Major General Expert Khalil Ibrahim Al Mansouri, Assistant Commander-in-chief for

Criminal Investigation Affairs, said the gang took advantage of the poor security measures in the car showroom, which facilitated the crime, using an iron piece to remove one of the glass windows and fleeing with the thets on motorcycles, which were also stolen, to an anonymous destination.

Al Mansouri pointed out that the gang consisted of 3 Europeans who were professionals in burglary and thet.

Brigadier Jamal Salem Al Jallaf, Director of Criminal Investigation Department (CID) at Dubai Police, explained that the suspects worked within organised gangs specialised in robbery.

Al Jallaf pointed out that details date back to an earlier time, when the Dubai Police received a report of a thet in a car showroom. When teams rushed to the scene, he added, an Arab national, who reported the police said that when he went inside the showroom at about 9am, he discovered that all the displayed jewellery disappeared.

Al Jallaf added that upon receiving the report, a team was formed to collect evidence from the crime scene.

According to Al Jallaf, the team set a quick plan to apprehend the perpetrators before they escaped with the thets. Teams also identified their identities.

Al Jallaf indicated that ater collecting all the evidence, the gangsters were arrested before they fled and the thets were recovered.