Future bank slapped with more fines

The Daily Tribune-newsofbahrain

Total fines amassed by parties involved in the multi-billion dollar Future-bank’s sanction-evading money laundering scheme has touched $47 million, with a court here slapping $1 million fines on three officials and the Iranian banks involved yesterday.

In the latest judgment, Bahrain’s High Criminal Court awarded a five-year prison term and $ 1 million in fines to each of the three Future Bank officials in about seven cases involving the Central Bank of Iran and other banks.

The court also fined the Central Bank of Iran and the other banks involved $1 million each, General Advocate Nayef Youssef Mahmood said.

Besides, the court ordered Bahraini auditors also uncovered $2.7 billion in payments made by the Future bank using an informal alternative to the SWIFT system that is difficult to trace, documents show.

Bank Melli and Bank Saderat have also been accused by US officials of helping finance Iran’s nuclear programme.

The scheme allowed the bank to make the transfers in violation of laws and regulations, Public Prosecution stated.

The future bank registered to provide commercial banking services including deposits, loans and credit cards had over 100 employees at the time of its establishment.

Bahrain Central Bank of Bahrain in May 2016 put Future Bank and Iran Insurance Co - the Bahrain branch of an Iranian insurer - under administration to “protect the rights of depositors and policyholders”. The confiscation of the illegally transferred money that reached $13 million.

Public Prosecution has un-covered evidence of a multibillion-dollar corruption scheme in which future bank officials secretly helped Iran evade sanctions for more than a decade.

Reports say the bank allegedly concealed at least $7 billion

of transactions between 2004 and 2015, with Bahraini officials uncovering hundreds of bank accounts tied to individuals convicted of various terrorism crimes, as well as phantom loans provided to companies that op- erate as fronts for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps