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A drug dealer allegedly used cryptocurrency to launder more than BD38,000, which he amassed by selling methamphetamine as part of an international narcotics-trafficking network.
Last year, the tech-savvy dealer was sentenced to seven years in prison for using peer-to-peer (P2P) digital currency technology to conceal the source of the illicit funds.
The court ordered the confiscation of BD38,109 from the Pakistani’s personal possessions and also fined him BD10,000.
Because the sentence was issued in absentia, the expat appeared before the High Criminal Court and lodged an objection. His defence was heard, but judges upheld the previous verdict.
In 2024, the 26-year-old was sentenced to five years in prison and fined BD3,000 for trading in methamphetamine (shabu), bringing his total jail time to 12 years.
The court heard that the defendant transferred more than BD38,000 in proceeds from his large-scale drug operation to the bank account of a friend who was unaware of his criminal activities.
He allegedly instructed the friend to purchase cryptocurrency on his behalf and transfer it to a digital wallet under his control in an attempt to conceal the origin of the funds and make them more difficult to trace.
Authorities first became suspicious of the Pakistani in 2024 after the National Centre for Financial Intelligence detected a series of shady transactions linked to him.
Investigations uncovered what prosecutors described as dubious financial activity, particularly as the defendant neither owned a business nor had a legitimate source of income in Bahrain.
It also emerged that some of the funds deposited into his accounts had come from individuals with prior drug convictions.
The case was referred to the Public Prosecution, which carried out further investigations and accused the Pakistani of acting as a proxy for an international drug-trafficking network specialising in the importation and distribution of illicit substances.
“The defendant’s role was to receive large sums of money and move them between bank accounts to give the funds an appearance of legitimacy,” an officer from the centre previously stated.
“He received the funds through exchange houses or withdrew them from ATMs before depositing them into bank accounts and investing the amounts in digital currencies.
“He would then resell the cryptocurrency through a well-meaning friend, and the cycle would continue.”
Meanwhile, the friend testified that the defendant maintained bank accounts in Bahrain despite residing primarily overseas.
The witness said he was involved in cryptocurrency trading and advertised services to convert cash into P2P digital currency. According to his testimony, customers would hand him cash and, in return, receive cryptocurrency.
The defendant reportedly admitted to taking the drug profits while being aware of their source. He also acknowledged that the numerous transactions he carried out were intended to disguise the source of the funds and make them appear legitimate.
zainab@gdnmedia.bh
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