Abu Dhabi court jails eight for fraud and money laundering

Prison sentences range from seven to 10 years

Eight people were jailed over a major fraud case. The National

Eight people have been found guilty of money laundering and fraud by the Abu Dhabi Criminal Court, fined Dh10 million each and sentenced to prison.

Their sentences range from seven to 10 years.

Four Emirati men, three Syrian men and an Ethiopian woman were convicted.

The court heard how they fraudulently acquired cars and laundered money by transferring ownership to themselves and selling the cars.

The scheme involve buying the vehicles using cheques linked to empty bank accounts.

The four non-UAE citizens will also face deportation.

Two other defendants in the case were found not guilty.

All money and assets belonging to the criminals were confiscated.

The Public Prosecution, along with the Financial Intelligence Unit of the UAE Central Bank told the court they had discovered irregularities with the bank accounts, such as deposits not matching declared salaries and cheques issued for money not available in the account.

The criminals involved repeatedly transferred ownership of cars between themselves to disguise the original source of the money.