Money-laundering trial witnesses to be summoned
Manama, March 20, 2014
Prosecution witnesses will be summoned to court in the case of 16 men accused of being part of a money-laundering ring in Bahrain that transferred up to BD350 million ($923.4 million).
The ring included 11 managers and employees working for an exchange company in Bahrain, in addition to five other accomplices who were accused of illegally transferring money to the kingdom, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.
Fifteen of them, who are in police custody, appeared at the Lower Criminal Court yesterday, where they earlier pleaded not guilty, while another suspect is still at large and is being tried in absentia.
The operation was smashed after Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) alerted the Interior Ministry's Anti-Corruption and Economic and Electronic Security Directorate to the irregularities which may be detrimental to Bahrain's financial standing.
The suspects were caught following a major investigation spanning Bahrain and reportedly regional countries including the UAE.
All suspects accused of being the ring members are charged with hiding data, failing to provide registers documenting the company's transactions and providing the CBB with false information, in addition to money-laundering, illegal transferring and forging documents.
The trial was adjourned until April 1 to summon the witnesses. - TradeArabia News Service
