Court Sentences Man to Six Years for Money Laundering Linked to Investment Fraud

The Head of the Financial and Money Laundering Crimes Prosecution announced that the First High Criminal Court has issued its verdict against a man accused of laundering funds obtained from fraudulent activities. The court sentenced the defendant to six years in prison, fined him BHD 105,000, and ordered the confiscation of BHD 75,299 in relation to the charges.

The case emerged after the Financial and Money Laundering Crimes Prosecution received a report from the National Financial Intelligence Unit, indicating that the accused operated within a criminal network to obtain funds from victims of fake investment schemes. The defendant allegedly received these funds into his two bank accounts, then transferred them to his account on the digital platform to purchase cryptocurrency (USDT). He subsequently moved the funds to his digital account outside Bahrain and later to multiple electronic wallets provided by the criminal network, ultimately passing the money to the fraudsters after taking his share.

Investigations revealed that the defendant received over BHD 75,000 from multiple victims, who were misled by anonymous members of the network pretending to represent various investment companies. The victims were encouraged to invest their money through the defendant’s bank accounts. Aware of the fraudulent source of the funds, the accused executed the orders of the network’s manager by transferring the victims’ money through the digital platform, then to digital wallet, and finally to multiple digital wallets supplied by the network. Following thorough questioning and presentation of technical evidence, the accused was referred to the competent criminal court, which issued the aforementioned ruling.

The Head of the Prosecution added that, based on the investigation findings and the criminal court’s verdict, the Public Prosecution is actively taking all legal measures, including seeking international judicial assistance, to hold accountable all those involved and to recover the funds obtained through the crime.