Fifteen men have been convicted of being part of a money-laundering racket that transferred up to BD350 million ($922.8 million) abroad.

The group, including 11 managers and staff working for UAE Exchange, illegally sent the money to Saudi Arabia, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

Fourteen of the defendants are in custody, while one is at large and was sentenced in absentia.

Eleven of the defendants were sentenced to eight years and six months in jail yesterday by the Lower Criminal Court. They were also fined BD130,000 each.

Four others were sentenced to five years and three months in jail and fined BD40,000 each.

The court also fined the company BD200,000 and ordered more than BD2 million to be confiscated.

All of the defendants will be deported upon completion of their sentences.

They were convicted of hiding data, failing to provide registers documenting the company's transactions and providing false information to the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB), in addition to money laundering, illegal money transfers and forging documents.

All of those in custody are expected to lodge appeals at the High Criminal Appeals Court.

The money-laundering operation was uncovered when CBB alerted the Interior Ministry's Anti-Corruption and Economic and Electronic Security Directorate about the irregularities.

The defendants were caught following a major investigation spanning Bahrain and other regional countries, including the UAE. - TradeArabia News Service