Cairo: Four expatriates in Saudi Arabia had been handed down a total of 20 years in prison and ordered to pay fines of SR125,000 each on charges of counterfeiting money, a prosecution official source has said.
The kingdom’s Economic Crime Prosecution charged the four Asians of forming a criminal group after they had been caught in possession of counterfeit SR8,700 and electronic equipment to print banknotes, the source added.
A specialised court convicted the four and sentenced them to five years in prison each and confiscated the seized equipment.
The court also ordered their deportation from the kingdom after serving their terms.
The source underlined prosecution efforts to safeguard monetary process in the kingdom against unlawful practices. It was not immediately clear when the case unravelled.
Earlier this week, Saudi prosecution announced sentencing two Arab expatriates to six years in prison and fining them a total of SR200,000 after they were convicted on money laundering.
The duo were found guilty of amassing fabulous money from unlawful practices with the aim of smuggling it to outside the country, a prosecution source said.
Both defendants had been referred to a court that also ordered the confiscation of money seized with them estimated at SR3.3 million, and an unspecified cache of foreign currencies as well as revenues raked in from the crime.
They will, moreover, be deported from Saudi Arabia after serving their terms and will be barred from re-entering the kingdom.
Saudi Arabia, a country of around 34.8 million including a large community of migrant workers, has stepped up a crackdown on different forms of graft in recent years.
