UAE court lifts prison sentence of Asim Ghafoor, orders him to pay Dhs5 million in money laundering case

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

The Abu Dhabi Criminal Court-Money Laundering and Tax Evasion Circuit convicted a US citizen named Asim Abdulrahman Ghafoor, for money laundering crimes related to a tax evasion in his country.

The Court ordered Ghafoor to pay Dhs5 million ($1.36 million) fine, while the Dhs18 million in his account to be confiscated.

But, it removed a three-year jail term from an earlier sentence handed down in absentia in May. The convict would be deported after serving the penalties, the Court ordered.

The case dates back to the time, when the UAE competent authorities received a request for judicial assistance from the American authorities regarding the investigations they are conducting about the convict on charges of tax evasion.

Moreover, he had made suspicious financial transfers to the UAE, with the intention of concealing and disguising source of those illegal funds. The American authorities inquired about his bank accounts, which received those transfers and transactions related to them.

The Public Prosecution in Abu Dhabi instantly proceeded with checking the financial transactions related to those accounts and bank transfers, in coordination with the concerned authorities.

After verification of data and information, it was confirmed that money-laundering crimes had been committed by the convict in the country through making international money transfers without proof of their source.

Accordingly, the Public Prosecution ordered that the convict be referred to the competent court on charges of money laundering, where he was sentenced to three years in prison, and fined Dhs3 million, to be followed by deportation.

But, the convict appealed against the judgment, which was changed to the abovementioned verdict.