Dubai Court cancels fine of Dhs150m in Abu Sabah case, upholds jail terms, deportation

The Dubai Court of Cassation has closed the case known as Abu Sabah case by partially overturning the ruling issued by the Court of Appeal, thereby cancelling the proportional fine of Dhs150 million imposed on the businessman known as Abu Sabah jointly with the other defendants and confiscating instead the money involved in the crime.

The court upheld the rest of the ruling where the defendant was sentenced to five years in jail to be followed by deportation and fined him Dhs500,000.

In addition, the court upheld the jail terms and penalties imposed on the other defendants in the case after they had been convicted in one of the largest money laundering cases that Dubai courts heard.

Earlier, the Court of Appeal increased the financial penalty imposed on Abu Sabah to Dhs150 million jointly with the rest of the defendants and upheld the initial ruling to sentence him to 5 years to be followed by deportation and fined him Dhs500,000 after he and 32 other defendants had been convicted in a money laundering case.

Following a report received by Dubai Police, the file was referred to the Public Prosecution on December 18, 2024 and the first trial session began on January 9, 2024.

The investigations revealed that the defendants had established an integrated money-laundering network, which relied on fictitious companies and suspicious financial transfers inside and outside the country.

As many as 33 people were involved in the case, some of whom were convicted in person and others in absentia.

According to the case file, the defendants, in co-ordination with agents of criminal networks in a European country, used bitcoin as a means of laundering illicit proceeds resulting from high-risk underlying crimes including drug trafficking and tax fraud.

A female defendant acquired real estates and vehicles valued at Dhs7.4 million, which were used in the defendants’ criminal activity.

The other group members carried out the financial transfer and concealment operations in a skillful and precise manner and managed to transfer around Dhs180 million into the country through digital platforms and wallets before those digital currencies were unofficially sold and converted into cash amounts.

The Criminal Court had convicted Abu Sabah of money laundering, sentencing him to 5 years in jail to be followed by deportation, fining him Dhs500,000 and confiscating Dhs150 million of his money. The court also convicted 11 defendants in absentia, sentencing them to 5 years in jail and fining each of them Dhs500,000.

In addition, it sentenced 10 others to one year in jail and fined them Dhs200,000 each, fined 3 companies Dhs5 million each and confiscated the seized money, electronic devices and phones.

The Public Prosecution demanded that the verdict be amended in accordance with the provisions of the law so that the defendant be fined jointly, the licences of the companies involved be cancelled, the verdict be published at the expense of those convicted and the maximum legal penalty be imposed on the defendants.

Dissatisfied with the verdict, a large number of the defendants appealed it before the Court of Appeal, pleading that the arrest and search were invalid, there was no legal translator and the confessions attributed to them were obtained under duress.

They also argued that the facts did not constitute money laundering but rather related to trading in digital currencies without legal authorisation.

After hearing the appeal, the court ruled in the presence of the parties to accept the appeals in form but correct the appealed judgment in content by cancelling the confiscation of the funds involved in the crime, fining the defendants jointly Dhs150 million and upholding the rest of the penalties.

Abu Sabah is known as the owner of a property management company with branches in the UAE, US and India. He was famous for his luxurious lifestyle and prominent investments, most notably his purchase of a distinctive number plate bearing the number 5 for Dhs33 million at a public auction in 2016.