KUWAIT CITY, Oct 23: The Court of Cassation has concluded a significant real estate fraud and money laundering case by amending a lower court verdict and sending a Kuwaiti businessman to 7 years in prison and imposing a fine of 128 million dinars on him. This verdict pertains to his involvement in selling counterfeit real estate, specifically chalets in Al-Khairan, reports Al-Rai daily.

Previously, the Criminal Court had sentenced the man to 17 months in prison and a 7-year imprisonment with hard labor for the second accused (an expatriate who remains at large). Both were also fined 128 million dinars. The civil aspect of the case has been referred to the appropriate civil court for further consideration.

The Public Prosecution charged the defendants with money laundering amounting to 64,294,023 Kuwaiti dinars. This charge was based on their deliberate acquisition and possession of this money, obtained from victims for investment purposes in two companies owned by the businessman. The funds were deposited into the bank accounts of these companies.

Additionally, the prosecution accused the defendants, who were authorized to manage the companies, of signing off on the companies' bank accounts, channeling funds into their personal accounts, and conducting internal and external transfers that gave the appearance of real estate investments.

These actions were undertaken to mask and conceal the illegitimate origin of the funds, which were deceptively used to create the illusion of a non-existent project and generate false hopes of profits. The defendants achieved this by advertising investment opportunities in real estate through various media outlets.