Dubai authorities uncover suspected Dh640m money-laundering scheme

Dozens face court after being arrested and charged with a range of fraudulent activities

Authorities in Dubai say they have exposed two separate money-laundering schemes worth hundreds of millions of dirhams. Antonie Robertson / The National

Two international money-laundering operations involving the illegal transfer of funds and cryptocurrencies have been broken up in Dubai, with a number of people arrested, officials say.

Prosecutors in the emirate referred an Emirati, 21 British citizens, two US citizens, a Czech citizen and two companies owned by the Emirati person to the Criminal Court of First Instance at Dubai Courts, where they face charges of possessing illicit funds of Dh461 million ($125 million), as well as forgery of official documents and their use.

An investigation uncovered that funds were being smuggled from the UK into the UAE using two companies acting as fronts, Dubai Government Media Office said. The suspects were accused of using forged documents and falsely declaring the money as proceeds from legitimate trade in the UK.

In another operation, the Dubai Economic Security Centre and the Public Funds Prosecution in Dubai teamed up to disrupt what is believed to be an organised crime network involved in laundering Dh180 million in cryptocurrency.

In this case, prosecutors referred a "a network of 30 individuals and three companies to the Money Laundering Court at Dubai Courts". They are accused of laundering cash through unlicensed cryptocurrency intermediaries in the UK and Dubai.

Two Indian citizens and one person from the UK are accused of orchestrating the scheme, in which proceeds were allegedly generated by drug trafficking, fraud and tax evasion in Britain. An operation led to the arrest of the accused and the freezing of bank accounts suspected of being used for money-laundering activities, the media office said.