Appeals Court Adjourns Hearing of Appeals of 22 Defendants Convicted in Money Laundering Case Linked to Drug Trafficking

TDT | Manama     

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

The High Appeals Court has adjourned the hearing of the appeals of 22 individuals convicted of money laundering funds derived from a drug trafficking operation worth 8 million Bahraini dinars. The hearing has been rescheduled to July 1st.

Among the 22 defendants are two Bahrainis and 20 Asians. They were each sentenced to five years in prison, fined 100,000 Bahraini dinars and ordered to forfeit over 11.7 million Bahraini dinars in assets.

The foreign nationals will also be deported from Bahrain after serving their sentences.

The case unfolded following a report received from the National Centre for Financial Investigations, which detailed the investigation into the defendants' receipt and subsequent laundering of money obtained through drug trafficking.

The accused allegedly funneled the illicit funds through their bank accounts and further converted them into digital currencies using peer-to-peer (P2P) digital trading platforms, all in an attempt to obscure the money's origin and provide it with a veneer of legitimacy.

Promptly upon receiving the report, the prosecution initiated a thorough investigation, undertaking measures to uncover and freeze the accounts belonging to the accused.

They meticulously traced the movement of funds, scrutinizing their source and destination. Witness testimonies were recorded, and the accused were interrogated and confronted with the evidence against them.

The investigation revealed that the primary defendant received over 6 million dinars from the second defendant through various bank accounts.

The defendant executed numerous transfers and transactions between their accounts, ultimately purchasing digital currencies and sending them abroad.

A meticulous analysis of the defendants' accounts from the second to the twenty-second revealed that they had received the accumulated sums from the drug trafficking operation.

These funds were subsequently transferred to the primary accused and other unidentified individuals with the aim of converting them into digital currencies and sending them abroad.

Bank statements showed that the total amount transferred exceeded 8 million dinars.

The Public Prosecution has charged the defendants, including the primary accused and others yet to be identified, with money laundering.

It is alleged that from 2022 to 2023, the primary defendant committed the crime of money laundering, amounting to 3,612,160 dinars and 90 fils, by receiving funds from the second to the twenty-second defendants.

The primary accused engaged in transfers between bank accounts and subsequently purchased digital currencies to transfer them outside the Kingdom of Bahrain, all in an attempt to conceal the funds' illicit origins and present them as legitimately obtained.

The defendants, from the second to the twenty-second, have been charged as an organised criminal gang involved in the illegal trafficking of drugs and psychotropic substances.

They are accused of committing the crime of money laundering using proceeds obtained through unlawful drug trafficking activities, amounting to 8 million dinars.

They conducted banking operations with these funds and subsequently transferred a portion to the first defendant and the remaining portion to unidentified individuals.