Authorities in the United States have praised the work of law enforcement agencies in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Europe for their roles in cracking an alleged money laundering ring linked to sham commodity trading.
Late last month, the US Attorney's Office in New York granted a seizure warrant for $4.3 million (£2.52 million) that according to prosecutors was the laundered proceeds of illegal activity, Emirates Business 24/7 reports.
It followed the 2007 arrest in the UAE of 40 suspects who are believed to have used traditional hawala transfers and money exchange bureaus to move the money around.
Lev Dassin, acting attorney for the Southern District of New York, said that UAE law enforcement had also recovered banking and wire transfer records showing that one of the suspects, NJK Patel, had orchestrated the transfer of the cash using entities he controlled in Dubai.
Dassin said this had disrupted an "extensive money laundering operation".
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