The United Arab Emirates has sentenced an American citizen and former lawyer of Jamal Khashoggi – dissident Saudi journalist killed in Saudi Arabia consulate in Istanbul in 2018 – up to three years in prison for money laundering and tax evasion.
Abu Dhabi Money Laundering Court also requires lawyers, US citizens Asim Ghafoorpay a fine of $816,748 for being convicted in absentia, of the UAE The state-run WAM news agency reported late on Saturday.
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The UAE’s The National newspaper said he would be deported to the US after serving his prison term.
The UAE considers Ghafoor’s arrest a coordinated move with the US to “fight transnational crime”. State media Emirati said US authorities had asked the UAE for help in their investigation into Ghafoor’s alleged tax evasion and suspicious money transfers in the Emirates.
The autocratic Gulf Arab police chief announced a one-day prison sentence after the human rights watchdog Democracy for Today’s Arab World, DAWN, based in Washington, raised the alarm over Ghafoor’s arrest. from Dubai International Airport.
DAWN said that its board member, a Virginia-based civil rights attorney who has represented Khashoggi and his fiancée, Hatice Cengiz, was in transit to Istanbul on Thursday to attend. a wedding when civilian Emirati security agents salvaged him and sent him to an Abu Dhabi Detention Facility before he could change planes.
Ghafoor is not aware of any cases against him and transited through Dubai without incident less than a year ago, DAWN said.
The US Embassy in Abu Dhabi did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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