Twelve men have been accused of being part of a money laundering ring that illegally transferred SR400 million ($106.6 million) overseas, a report said.

The suspects are all Indians working in one of Bahrain's leading money exchange companies, including six branch managers, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

Sources said the men would transfer up to SR1 million a day to the UAE, it said.

It is claimed they sent the cash using forged documents purporting to be from 80 commercially registered companies with the help of an employee at the Commercial Registration Bureau.

According to information provided to Central Bank of Bahrain, large amounts of money were brought into Bahrain in bags via the King Fahad Causeway.

It was then taken directly to the exchange company so it could be laundered and transferred abroad.

Almost half of the 80 companies used to send the money abroad were fake and the rest had done business with the exchange company before, but had no idea the funds were being sent in their name.

The suspects were caught following a major investigation spanning Bahrain, Saudi and the UAE that involved the Public Prosecution and Anti-Economic Crime Directorate.

It is not known where the illegally laundered money came from and authorities are still co-operating with money laundering experts in Saudi and the UAE to find out if the men arrested are part of a bigger syndicate.

The suspects were arrested in December and the six managers were remanded in custody for another 45 days yesterday, while investigations continue. Everyone involved in the case has been charged with money laundering, forgery and fraud. - TradeArabia News Service