Bahrain: Iran-owned Future Bank found guilty of money laundering
Bank officials sentenced to five years in prison and fined 1 million dinars each
Dubai: The High Criminal Court of Bahrain found the Iran-owned Future Bank, five of its officials and several Iranian banks guilty of money laundering, Bahrain News Agency (BNA) reported.
The bank officials were sentenced to five years in prison and fined 1 million dinars each.
The other involved banks were fined 1 million dinars each and the financial sums at the heart of the case were seized. They are estimated at around 43 million dollars.
Earlier this year, the Public Prosecution said that the Future Bank, which operated under the supervision of Bank Melli Iran and Bank Saderat Iran, carried out thousands of international financial transactions while providing cover for Iranian entities by concealing and deliberately removing basic information when transferring funds via the SWIFT network.
Bahraini authorities suspended activities of the bank in 2012 due to UN sanctions on Iran. Manama has been accusing the bank of being a terrorism financing channel since Feb. 14, 2011.