Bahrain Sentences to Prison Suspects in Money Laundering Cases Related to Iran

A view of Bahrain’s financial district in the capital city of Manama. (Reuters)
A view of Bahrain’s financial district in the capital city of Manama. (Reuters)
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Bahrain Sentences to Prison Suspects in Money Laundering Cases Related to Iran

A view of Bahrain’s financial district in the capital city of Manama. (Reuters)
A view of Bahrain’s financial district in the capital city of Manama. (Reuters)

Bahrain sentenced to prison three suspects in the Future Bank case, and fined them more than 9 million dollars.

The case came to light after the general prosecution revealed in February that some seven billion dollars have disappeared from Future Bank’s records and were used to finance Iranian groups, in violation of sanctions imposed against the country.

A court sentenced the Future Bank officials to five years in jail, fining them each 100,000 dinars. It also fined the implicated banks the same amount and ordered the confiscation of the remitted money.

The Public Prosecution had previously revealed that its investigations have uncovered a plan that permitted Iranian entities, including those implicated in funding terrorism or which are under international sanctions, to carry out international transactions while avoiding organizational auditing.

Future Bank, which is operating under the supervision of Bank Melli Iran and the Export Development Bank of Iran, has carried out thousands of international financial transactions while providing covers for the Iranian entities there through deliberate concealment or removal of basic information while remitting money via the SWIFT network.

The Public Prosecution referred the Future Bank officials and the other implicated banks to the High Criminal Court according to the anti-money laundering and combating funding terrorism law.



Syria's New Rulers Urge US to Lift Sanctions During Visit to Doha

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, meets Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Doha, Qatar, January 5, 2025. (SANA/Handout via Reuters)
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, meets Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Doha, Qatar, January 5, 2025. (SANA/Handout via Reuters)
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Syria's New Rulers Urge US to Lift Sanctions During Visit to Doha

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, meets Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Doha, Qatar, January 5, 2025. (SANA/Handout via Reuters)
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, meets Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Doha, Qatar, January 5, 2025. (SANA/Handout via Reuters)

Syria's new rulers said on Sunday that US sanctions on Syria were an obstacle to the war-torn country's rapid recovery and urged Washington to lift them during a visit by Syrian officials to Qatar.

"These sanctions constitute a barrier and an obstacle to the rapid recovery and development of the Syrian people who await services and partnerships from other countries," Syria's Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani told reporters after meeting with Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who also serves as foreign minister.

"We reiterate our calls for the United States to lift these sanctions, which have now become against the Syrian people rather than what they previously were: imposed sanctions on the Assad regime," he said.

Shibani, on his second foreign trip less than a month after former President Bashar al-Assad was ousted by opposition factions on Dec. 8, said that Qatar will be a partner in the new phase in Syria.

Doha had not normalized ties with Assad over his government's violent response to 2011 protests and backed the opposition instead.

Shibani, who was joined by Syrian Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra and Head of Intelligence Anas Khattab, met with other senior Qatari officials including Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Mohammed Al-Khulaifi, a Qatari official told Reuters earlier.

Shibani presented the Qataris a clear roadmap for the near future in Syria and steps that would be taken by the new Syrian administration, Al-Khulaifi told reporters after the meeting.

"We are working together to prevent any foreign interference in Syrian affairs," Al-Khulaifi added.

Shibani said the roadmap is meant to "rebuild our country, restore its Arab and foreign relations, enable the Syrian people to obtain their civil and basic rights, and present a government that the Syrian people feel it represents them and all their components."

He is expected to also visit the United Arab Emirates and Jordan this week to "support stability, security, economic recovery and build distinguished partnerships," according to his account on X.

Shibani embarked on his first foreign trip to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday where Saudi officials discussed how best to support Syria's political transition.