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Bahrain’s Major Criminal Court has passed jail sentences and fines against bank officials over money laundering linked to Iranian banks. Image Credit: Rex Features

Cairo: Bahrain’s Major Criminal Court has passed jail sentences and fines against bank officials over involvement in money laundering linked to Iranian banks, media reports said Thursday.

The court sentenced three bank officials, who are Iranian nationals, to five years in jail each in 10 related cases. Seven defendants were also ordered to pay a fine of BD10 million each. The court, moreover, ordered the confiscation of nearly $4 million from the assets of each defendant, according to the Bahraini newspaper Al Bilad.

The case involves a bank based in Bahrain and three Iranian banks charged with violating the kingdom’s laws in connection to money laundering and terrorism funding. They were involved in money laundering worth nearly $4 million, according to Bahrain’s chief prosecutor Nayef Youssef.