2024-01-18T14:09:41+00:00
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/ A criminal court in Qatar issued a 20-year prison sentence against former Finance Minister Ali Sharif Al-Emadi on charges of money laundering exceeding $5.6 billion, according to a document summarizing the ruling seen by Reuters.
The document showed that the court of first instance ruled that Al-Emadi pay a fine of more than 61 billion Qatari riyals ($16.7 billion), representing 40.9 billion riyals, that is, double the amount of money he laundered, and additional fines exceeding 21 billion riyals.
According to the document, the judges also convicted Sheikh Nawaf bin Jassim bin Jabr Al Thani, a prominent member of the Qatari ruling family and brother of the former Qatari prime minister, of misusing public funds and sentenced him to 6 years in prison and a fine of 825 million riyals.
Al-Emadi and Sheikh Nawaf, who were on trial with 14 others, can appeal the ruling issued by the court on January 10, and it is not yet clear whether the two men have filed motions to respond to the charges during the trial.
Al-Emadi was convicted of bribery, abuse of position and authority, and harming public funds, in addition to money laundering, according to the document, which did not explain the nature of the corruption acts in detail.
A lawyer representing another defendant and a source familiar with the case confirmed the contents of the five-page judicial document, which Reuters reviewed.
Al-Emadi was arrested in May 2021 and removed from the position of Minister of Finance.
Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani said that the investigation into Al-Emadi relates to his capacity as Minister of Finance, and not to other positions he held in the business community during his tenure as minister.
The Official Gazette said that the Emir of Qatar canceled provisions granting ministers immunity from prosecution a day before Al-Emadi’s arrest in 2021.
Sheikh Nawaf, the brother of former Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani, remained until 2021 chairman of Katara Hospitality Company, the hotel arm of the Qatar Investment Authority, which owns the Savoy Hotel in London and the Plaza in New York and developed the Katara Towers hotel project in Qatar worth $600 million. .