Man gets five years in jail for laundering BD 2 million

TDT | Manama                    

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com  

The High Criminal Court jailed a 40-year-old man for five years on charges of laundering BD2 million and conning a GCC businessman out of BD3m by playing as an investor.

The court also slapped him with a fine of BD100,000 and ordered to seize from him BD2,517,709 as money or properties.

The man, court files say, lured victims by selling the idea of investing in real estate and introducing several others claiming to be investment partners.

Following the meetings, the victim made six transfers totalling BD3 million for investing in Bahrain and other Gulf Countries, where the suspect promised a 12% to 15% interest.

Starting in 2011 and up to 2015, the victim was handed over profits of up to BD85,000 but stopped afterwards. The developments led to the victim investigating the investor, only to find he had several money laundering cases against his name and that the Central Bank of Bahrain had cancelled the registrations of institutions under his name, making it illegal for him to collect funds.

According to the General Directorate of Anti-Corruption and Economic and Electronic Security, the defendant worked in an international bank and owned several contracting establishments, all of which were cancelled by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce several years ago.

Further investigations revealed that the defendant had defrauded several with the promise of investment. Police also found him as a fugitive sentenced to prison in other cases and had illegally fled to Europe. The names he used in investment contracts are fictitious ones to deceive victims.