DUBAI: A court in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has convicted 13 Indian citizens and seven companies of money laundering charges. The criminals were found to have laundered 510 million dirhams ($139 million) through their crimes in stores in the United Arab Emirates.
The Abu Dhabi Criminal Court, which handles money laundering and tax evasion cases, has convicted 13 Indian individuals and their businesses of money laundering. Her crime consisted of engaging in economic activity and using credit lines provided through point of sale (POS) without obtaining the necessary authorization from the competent authorities.
Four of the defendants attended trial, but the others remained on the run and were convicted in absentia. The court sentenced them to five to ten years’ imprisonment and a fine of Dh5 million to Dh10 million. Additionally, a UAE court ordered the confiscation of laundered funds and the deportation of convicted individuals who had completed their sentences.
Companies involved in these crimes were fined 10 million dirhams each. Prisoners established criminal gangs to conduct economic activities without the necessary public approval. They made credit lines available through several company outlets operating on the premises of the travel agency that was the scene of the illegal activity. Defendants made unauthorized purchases through these companies’ proprietary point-of-sale systems. In some cases, they abused access to third-party bank accounts without the owner’s knowledge. They did this by using the account for fraudulent withdrawals and subtracting the percentage of businesses that owned and used his POS device for each transaction.
A financial transaction report and analysis by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) revealed that there was a large flow of funds in a short period of time between the bank accounts of the defendants and their affiliates. These financial activities were found to be inconsistent with the stipulated legitimate economic activities. Defendants carried out numerous financial transactions, including deposits, withdrawals and transfers, in order to disguise the origin of the funds.
The court’s decision sends a strong signal against money laundering and underscores the UAE’s efforts to combat financial crime. The convictions and penalties imposed are aimed at deterring those involved in illegal activities and protecting the integrity of the UAE’s financial system.
Source Google News