Three Future Bank officials have been sentenced to five years in jail and fined $1 million each following a series of money laundering cases that have also implicated the Central Bank of Iran and other banks, Bahrain News Agency (BNA) has reported.

Bahain’s High Criminal Court issued a total of $47 million in fines, including the $1 million each on the three Future Bank officials, as well as on the Central Bank of Iran, Bank Melli Iran and Bank Saderat Iran, over a total of seven cases.

The court also ordered the confiscation of $13 million of illegally transferred money.

During investigations, the kingdom’s Public Prosecution found that Central Bank of Iran planned to launder billions of dollars through Future Bank, which was established in Bahrain and controlled by two Iranian banks, Bank Melli Iran and Bank Saderat Iran, BNA reported.

This was done to pass suspicious financial transactions in favour of Iranian entities, mainly the Central Bank of Iran, in violation of laws and regulations.

Future Bank received requests for suspicious financial transfers in favour of the Central Bank of Iran and other Iranian banks through the SWIFT system without reporting them, setting aside their sums or checking their legitimacy in an effort conceal the identity of the Iranian banks. The scheme allowed the bank to make the transfers in violation of laws and regulations, Public Prosecution concluded.

(Writing by Imogen Lillywhite; editing by Seban Scaria)

imogen.lillywhite@refinitiv.com

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