Up to 8 years in prison for two international money laundering networks

Thirteen defendants were sentenced Thursday, April 7 in Rennes to sentences ranging from 18 months suspended prison sentence to eight years firm for their involvement in two large money laundering networks involving tens of millions of euros.

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A 33-year-old French defendant was released with the benefit of the doubt by the correctional chamber of the specialized interregional jurisdiction (Jirs) of Rennes.

The other defendants, aged 34 to 58, residing in the Paris region, were sentenced to sentences generally in line with the requisitions for money laundering or money laundering in an organized gang.

The court issued six arrest warrants against defendants who were absent during the deliberations.

More than 43 million euros laundered

Two money laundering networks, one African, the other Pakistani, were discovered in 2018 via wiretapping, during an investigation into drug trafficking in Brittany.

One of the traffickers had indeed resorted to “

” in the Paris region to launder the money from the traffic.

Hawala is a traditional, informal, trust-based payment system for cross-border settlements without the physical movement of money.

Through this network, the investigators had identified "

", according to the prosecution.

Two big collectors, a 44-year-old Mauritanian and a 34-year-old Malian, were sentenced to five years in prison for their involvement.

Another 44-year-old Congolese collector was sentenced to three years in prison, including 18 months suspended.

Finally, two other defendants, a 37-year-old Frenchman and a 58-year-old Senegalese were sentenced to one year in prison and an 18-month suspended sentence respectively.

In the latter, described as "

", the investigators had found nearly 500,000 euros in cash.

Via the Pakistani network, investigators estimated that more than 43 million euros were laundered between 2018 and 2020.

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Three Pakistani defendants aged 44, 42 and 39 were sentenced to eight years in prison for the oldest and seven years for the other two, with banishment from French territory.

Another defendant was sentenced to six years in prison and confiscation of the seizures (more than 500,000 euros in company accounts and 56,000 euros in his personal accounts).

Another 34-year-old Pakistani defendant was also sentenced to six years in prison with a permanent ban from French territory.