A Dubai court has imposed a Dh150 million fine over an international money laundering scam involving Bitcoin.
Kuwaiti-born Indian businessman Balvinder Singh Sahni, widely known as Abu Sabah, was sentenced to five years in prison in May and hit with a Dh500,000 fine. The Court of First Instance also ordered Sahni's deportation after serving his sentence.
Now, Dubai's Court of Appeal has ruled that the 30 defendants in the case, including Sahni, must repay the full Dh150 million prosecutors say was laundered.
Sahni has the right to appeal against the ruling, at the Court of Cassation. The National has attempted to contact his lawyer for comment.
How did the scam work?
Court documents obtained by The National show that a criminal investigation into the 53-year-old's business practices was launched in December 2024, It uncovered a network of illicit financial activity using Bitcoin between October 2018 and January 2019.
The investigation followed a tip-off delivered to Abu Dhabi's State Security Agency, which found 30 people at the heart of the plot.
Records show the defendants laundered money in co-operation with organised crime groups in the UK.
Funds of about Dh180 million from UK-based drug traffickers were transferred anonymously via Bitcoin to five digital wallets owned by Sahni.
These funds were then transferred into cash by other defendants working for Sahni and delivered physically, in dirhams, to a rented apartment at a Dubai luxury hotel.
Sahni then deducted four per cent of the cash as profit and deposited the money in the accounts of three companies he owned.
The authority arrested 20 suspects, with a further 10 still at large. In court, all 30 were found guilty, with sentences varying between one to five years.
Additionally, the appeal court ordered a Dh5 million fine against the three companies owned by Sahni: the Raj Sahni Group, Sabah Tower RSG and Reeva Realty FZ-LLC.
The defendants are from India, Pakistan, the UK, the Netherlands, Palestine, Iraq and Jordan.
Who is Abu Sabah?
The Dubai property portfolio of Sahni's company includes the 24-storey Burj Sabah apartment complex in Jumeirah Village Circle and the Qasr Sabah’s residential buildings in Dubai Sports City.
RSG also owns commercial property in Bay Square, Business Bay and the five-star Sabah Dubai Skyline hotel and homes under construction in Sufouh Gardens.
Sahni, a luxury car collector, often posted photos of his expensive vehicles on social media. He made headlines in 2016 after buying the single-digit 5 Dubai licence plate for Dh33 million, about $9 million at the time.
Sahni was a familiar presence on Dubai's social scene, often seen wearing his distinctive royal blue kandura, baseball cap and matching sneakers.
His Instagram feed is filled with videos flaunting his wealth to his millions of followers, shopping in luxury stores and posing with lions and chimpanzees in private zoos.
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Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
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