05/13/2008

News / PAKISTANI NATIONAL SENTENCED TO 33 MONTHS FOR MONEY LAUNDERING CONSPIRACY

Baltimore, Maryland - U.S. District Judge Marvin J. Garbis sentenced Adeel Sattar, also known as Ahmad Jamal, Laala and Adeel Rana, age 24, of Hollis, New York, today to 33 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for conspiracy to launder money, announced United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein. Jamal was born in Pakistan and is neither a citizen, nor a lawful permanent resident, of the United States.

According to his guilty plea, between May 2006 and September 19, 2007, a cooperating witness, acting at the direction of ICE and FBI agents in Maryland, provided a total of approximately $1,655,000 to Jamal’s co-defendants in order to transfer the monies abroad through an informal money transfer system called a “hawala,” utilizing a network of persons and/or businesses to transfer money across domestic and international borders without reliance upon conventional banking systems and regulations. The cooperating witness represented that the monies were the proceeds of, and related to, his illegal drug trafficking.

Beginning in December 2006, the cooperating witness began discussing arrangements for a $400,000 hawala transaction involving a hand-to-hand transfer of cash in Australia. Between February 26 and 27, 2007, the cooperating witness was directed to meet with Jamal and two other individuals in New York to hand over the money in $100,000 increments. On February 26, 2007, in Queens, New York, Jamal accepted $100,000 from the cooperating witness, who told Jamal that his money was used to bring in marihuana, heroin, and cocaine. In response to questions from Jamal, the cooperating witness told Jamal about the business, how much money could be made from the sale of narcotics and where he obtained his drugs.

"This case exemplifies how cooperative law enforcement efforts lead to the exposure of individuals and groups seeking to exploit our financial systems said James A Dinkins, Special Agent in Charge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ICE will continue to pursue those who circumvent our laws for financial gain."

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein thanked U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation for their investigative work. In addition, U.S. Attorney Rosenstein thanked our international partners, the Spanish National Police; Australian Federal Police; Dutch National Police; and Belgium Federal Police for their help. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of New York also provided assistance in this case.

Mr. Rosenstein commended Assistant United States Attorney Christine Manuelian, who is prosecuting the case.

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