13 Indians found guilty of money laundering, tax evasion in UAE
Darpan News Desk IANS, 26 May, 2023 11:09 AM
Dubai, May 26 (IANS) Thirteen Indian nationals, including seven companies owned by them, have been convicted of money laundering and tax evasion by the Abu Dhabi Criminal Court, a media report said.
The court found them guilty of laundering Dh510 million involving unlicensed provision of credit facilities through points of sale (POS), the Khaleej Times reported last week.
Four of the Indians were sentenced to jail terms ranging from five to 10 years, followed by deportation, and the court ordered them to pay fines ranging from Dh5 million to Dh10 million.
The seven companies involved in the crime were each fined Dh10 million.
According to investigations, the Indians had set up a "criminal organisation" and used the headquarters of a travel agency to carry out unlicensed economic activities through which they had reportedly gained over half a billion dirhams.
They would pay customers in cash and then use their credit cards to make fake purchases through their companies' POS, the Khaleej Times reported.
In some cases, they would also assist customers settle credit card debts by depositing cash into their accounts, making another fraudulent POS transaction, and then deducting an interest amount.
According to bank transaction reports and financial analysis statements issued by the Financial Information Unit (FIU), an unusually high volume of cash flow into and out of the bank accounts of the defendants and their companies was noticed in a short period of time.
In December last year, six companies were fined Dh3.2 million for breaching anti-money laundering laws.
The U.S. will likely see an uptick in cases caused by the omicron descendant BA.2 starting in the next few weeks, according to Dr. Eric Topol, head of Scripps Research Translational Institute.
The White House says it is "closely monitoring" the situation and is keeping tabs on negotiations, as are administration officials, including the U.S. ambassador, and cabinet secretaries.
The China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737-800 was flying from Kunming to Guangzhou when it plunged to the ground in Guangxi province and caught fire, the BBC reported.
They include Sen. Ed Markey, who couldn't contain his excitement this week when the Senate unanimously passed a plan that would make daylight time permanent across the country.
White House officials say the shortfall will soon make it harder to access the vaccines, booster shots, tests and drug therapies that have become vital tools in the fight against COVID-19.
So far the Russian troops have taken over the closed nuclear power plant at Chernobyl and the active nuclear power plant Zaporizhzhia, situated on the banks of the Dnieper River, in the city of Enerhodar.
