A man who laundered more than BD1 million has been sentenced to 12 years in prison by the High Criminal Court for fraud, embezzlement and forging electronic records.
The real estate employee was also fined BD100,000 and the court ordered the confiscation of BD1,064,502 from his assets.
He also has to repay the victim’s company a total of BD388,144, in addition to BD5,001 as a temporary civil compensation for damages caused.
According to the Public Prosecution, the man, whose age and nationality have not been disclosed, abused his position of authority to embezzle funds from the company and misappropriate property ownership documents that were in his possession.
He manipulated the company’s electronic records system, entering false data to make it appear as if properties had been fully paid for.
Public Prosecution heard testimony from company specialists, appointed auditors, and obtained warrants to investigate the defendant’s bank account and assets, which confirmed criminal activity.
A report by the Financial Intelligence National Centre also confirmed that the defendant had laundered proceeds exceeding BD1m.
He used his own bank accounts and those of relatives to transfer parts of stolen funds and deposited other amounts into his personal accounts.
He transferred money between various accounts in an attempt to obscure its origins.
To further conceal the illegal source of funds, he used part of the money to build a private residence and then purchased another property, registering them under other people’s names with the intention of disguising the origin of the money and legitimising it.
Upon interrogation, the defendant confessed to the crimes when confronted with substantial testimonial and technical evidence. He was then referred to the High Criminal Court who issued the verdict, announced yesterday.
&uuid=(email))