Sentences of up to nine years in prison were pronounced Tuesday, July 12 by the criminal court of Marseille against the organizers of an international network of laundering of large sums of money between France, Italy, the Algeria and Dubai.
The defendants were also prosecuted for the specific laundering of proceeds from drug trafficking.
But they were released on this aspect of the case, the file lacking evidence on the origin of the funds.
Only one defendant released
A total of 23 defendants had been tried since July 4 for their participation in this network combining both hawala - a hidden financial compensation system dating from the Middle Ages - and more traditional money laundering, via the conversion in Italy of sums in cash in gold, then sent to Algeria or Dubai.
The investigators had found the trace of transport of money from Marseille to Italy for amounts around 600,000 to 900,000 euros.
Among the 23 defendants, only one was released from all charges.
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The court sentenced two Italians to seven years in prison and a fine of 400,000 euros.
The prosecution designated them as those who recovered the money transported from France in the caches fitted out in the vehicles, to then transform it into gold at the rate of 30,000 to 40,000 euros per kilo of precious metal.
Placed by the prosecution at the head of this "
vast international organization
", two Algerians, on the run, were sentenced to nine years in prison and a fine of 500,000 euros.
A warrant of arrest has been issued against them.
Eleven “sarafs”
Living between Algeria and Marseille, where they occupied the room of a hostel for workers in the city center, three Algerian brothers, portrayed as the organizers of the collection, transport and conversion operations, respectively received seven years, six years and 42 months in prison, with fines ranging from 50,000 to 300,000 euros.
On the other hand, the court did not follow the Marseille public prosecutor's office, which considered that links existed between these "
collectors
" and the drug resale networks of the Marseille cities.
The prosecution, however, put forward the analysis of seized banknotes, establishing a very high contamination by cannabis and cocaine.
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Eleven "
sarafs
", informal stockbrokers practicing compensation between France and Algeria, received sentences ranging from 18 months to six years in prison and fines of 5,000 to 100,000 euros.
The defendants maintained that they operated money transfers on the mode of hawala, for the benefit of traders, retirees and investors.
The hawala making these flows escape any banking regulation, all were also sentenced for illegal exercise of the profession of banker.
