He had remitted Dh300,000 in 119 transactions to people in six Arab countries in a period of 30 months.
A young man in Abu Dhabi who disguised as a perfume dealer and remitted a lot of money outside the country was found to be involved in prostitution activities and has been jailed for five years.
The Abu Dhabi Appellant Court handed down the jail sentence to the Arab man in his 20s after he was found guilty of human trafficking, running a brothel and money laundering.
Official court documents stated that the Arab man was bringing women from different countries on visit visas. He made them stay in an apartment and then forced them into having sex with various men in exchange for money.
Investigations revealed that some men took the women to their apartments while others slept with them in hotels.
He would then remit the proceeds from the illegal business to people in different countries with whom he operated the human trafficking business. Prosecutors said the man had declared his small perfume business as the source of his income to the remitting firms.
Police had initiated an investigation into the matter after suspecting the man’s source of income as he often remitted huge amounts of money to different countries.
Prosecutors said the defendant had remitted Dh300,000 in 119 transactions to people in six Arab countries in a period of 30 months.
Cops later found found out that he was engaged in prostitution activities.
Prosecutors charged the man with human trafficking, running a brothel and money laundering.
The young man had denied the charges throughout his trial in court.
The Abu Dhabi Court of First Instance had earlier cleared him of the charges but prosecutors appealed the verdict.
The man’s lawyer argued in the appeal court that there was no sufficient evidence to prove that his client was engaged in prostitution activities and money laundering.
He told court that besides working for a perfume company where he draws a salary of Dh10,000, his client obtained the cash from his personal perfume business.
The lawyer said the young man was dealing in perfumes and could always remit money to his suppliers through money exchange firms.
The judge, however, rejected the lawyer’s statement and cancelled the ruling by the lower court. The court then convicted the Arab man based on the evidence presented by prosecutors.
ismail@khaleejtimes.com
Ismail Sebugwaawo
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