The offence 

Two companies illegally concealed the source of profits generated from unlicenced oil trading – money laundering – after a UAE bank identified potentially suspicious transactions.  

The process 

A UAE financial institution spotted a series of unusual financial transfers and contacted Abu Dhabi Police’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to raise concerns over suspicious remittance payments. The bank filed a Suspicious Transaction Report (STR) with the UAE FIU.  

CID contacted the UAE FIU’s Operational Analysis Section (OAS) to analyse the STR. They advised the Abu Dhabi Public Prosecution, which issued a freeze order on the accounts. 

The UAE FIU’s Domestic Cooperation Section (DCS) approved the request and alerted 10 counterpart FIUs across the world (the UK, Jordan, Turkey, India, Switzerland, Austria, Malaysia, USA, Hong Kong, and Singapore). They completed a database search for other active STRs before compiling a technical report on the events.  

The outcome 

Money totalling of AED 312 million and USD 224,944.44 was frozen in separate accounts while the case proceeded through the courts. Following trial, nine defendants received custodial sentences of seven to ten years in prison, followed by deportation.