Manama: The Bahraini minister at the centre of an international money-laundering scam is alleged to have been confronted by the police with pictures of sensitive Bahraini military installations that had been sent to Iranian security sources, a local newspaper reported.
"Bahraini security staff presented to Mansoor Bin Rajab, the state minister, and to the head of his office an electronic devise containing pictures of sensitive military locations that had been sent to Iranian security contacts," Al Bilad newspaper said on Monday.
The sending of sensitive pictures to a foreign security agency is one of four charges facing the head of the office, the paper said. Other charges are money-laundering, protecting money launders and illegally obtaining money.
An interior ministry official refused to give further comments, saying that the probe was continuing and he could not provide information.
Bin Rajab did not attend the weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday, but the ministry offices were open, although they had no computers after the security authorities took them for further scrutiny as part of their investigation.
His non-participation in the cabinet session reinforced the growing accusations that he was involved in the scam despite his confident assurances on Friday to visitors to his majlis (open house) that he was innocent.
According to Al Bilad, the questioning of the minister during his brief detention focused on a Kuwaiti woman, a Sudanese national who visited Bahrain several times and was in Manama two weeks ago, and a Bahraini citizen, a daily visitor of the office of the minister, but who has not been seen lately.
Kuwaiti daily Al Watan on Monday said the money-laundering scam unveiled by Manama on Friday was not confined to Bahrain, but also included other countries in the Gulf and beyond.
"Kuwait is one of the countries covered by the network of those involved in the operation and already one Kuwaiti woman has been interrogated about her role in laundering money," Al Watan reported.
According to the paper, the money-laundering operations were for the benefit of Iran's Revolutionary Guards who are using new channels to launder money following international sanctions on their assets.
"Iran has a two-fold strategy in the region: Getting closer to decision-makers and using local merchants keen on swift lucrative deals," the paper said. "As Kuwait is a fertile ground for both components of the strategy, it is expected that many Kuwaiti merchants and business people are involved in money-laundering operations. One woman has already been questioned on the issue."
Al Watan said the name of the 45-year Kuwaiti woman was mentioned in the Bahraini investigations of the money-laundering case in which Minister of State Mansoor Bin Rajab and the head of his office are allegedly involved.
"The Bahraini security forces alerted their Kuwaiti counterpart who summoned the woman and confronted her with a cheque that a Bahraini suspect said belonged to her," Al Watan said. "However, the woman denied having any role in the scheme or knowing anything about the multi-million dinar cheque. She said she had met the Bahraini man at a café and exchanged phone numbers with him as friends."
The newspaper on Sunday reported that the money-laundering scheme included funneling money from the sale of narcotics from Columbia, Azerbaijan and Eastern China through the Bahraini minister to Iran's Revolutionary Guard.
In Manama, media reports said that Bin Rajab would be summoned for a second interrogation next week after the investigators go through the contents of the computers seized in his main office and other buildings. Several other people would be summoned by the public prosecutor as part of the investigation, the reports said.
An interior ministry statement on Friday said that the competent security authorities have been monitoring the money-laundering scheme since early 2009.
Bin Rajab, 55, is a former member of the upper chamber (Shura Council) and the minister of agriculture and municipalities from 2006 until 2008. He was later named minister of state.
He is the first minister in the Gulf to be interrogated while on duty. News of his detention and alleged involvement in money-laundering have stunned Bahrainis and dominated online forums.
