Isa Qassim skips trial for third time

Manama : Infamous religious cleric Isa Qassim, who has been accused of money laundering, has skipped the High Criminal Court hearing for the third time.

Only one of his two codefendants, Hussain Al Qassab, attended yesterday’s hearing.  He also attended the previous hearing, where he entered a not-guilty plea.

The trio is facing accusations of money laundering, illegal fundraising and financing anti-Bahrain terrorist organisations abroad.

Al Qassab had allowed the court to assign a lawyer for him, but yesterday he accused it of hiring an “unqualified” one. The case lasted only for a few minutes and the court adjourned it until September 26 for Al Qassab’s lawyer to submit his closing argument. 

According to the court, Qassim, who was the mastermind behind the crime, had instructed the duo to raise the funds. His codefendants confirmed that he was the only decision-maker in the spending process.

Earlier, the public prosecution said US$10 million was found deposited in his bank account. However, Qassim reportedly stopped putting cash in his account since 2013.

In order to add legitimacy to the illegally collected money, Qassim bought real estate properties worth over US$1 million and registered the properties under his name.