Harsh rulings issued in 2 ‘money-wash’ cases

KUWAIT CITY, July 22: The State Security and Terrorism Crimes Court, chaired by Judge Nasser Al-Badr, with Judges Omar Al-Mulaifi, Abdullah Al-Faleh and Salem Al-Zayed as members, issued harsh rulings in two money laundering cases, reports Al-Seyassah daily. In the first case, the court sentenced Kuwaiti citizens and expatriates to 10 years in prison and fined them KD281,881,000. It also fined companies and commercial entities KD140,940,000 after proving their involvement in money laundering.

Case files indicate that the defendants collected cash and deposited the money into the accounts of companies, restaurants, taxi offices and a money exchange center. Some of the funds were then transferred outside Kuwait to conceal the source and give them a legitimacy cover. The other defendants were acquitted. In the second case, the court sentenced a Kuwaiti citizen and two Egyptians to 10 years in prison and fined them, along with commercial companies, KD 22,362,000 after convicting them of laundering about KD7 million through the alternative ‘hawala’ system, while the other defendants were acquitted.