UAE sentences former Khashoggi lawyer to 3 years in prison
Dubai, Jul 17: The United Arab Emirates has sentenced an American citizen and the former lawyer of Jamal Khashoggi the dissident Saudi journalist who was killed at Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul in 2018 to three years in prison on charges of money laundering and tax evasion.
The lawyer, US citizen Asim Ghafoor, was also ordered to pay a fine of USD 816,748 stemming from his in absentia conviction, the UAE's state-run WAM news agency reported late on Saturday, adding that he would be deported after completing his sentence.
Ghafoor's lawyer dismissed the charges as absolutely not accurate at all.
I'm just hoping for a fair trial. I hope there's no political motivation here, his US-based lawyer Faisal Gill said. He had never heard anything about these charges and all of a sudden he's put in jail.
The UAE framed Ghafoor's arrest as a coordinated move with the US to combat transnational crimes.
Emirati state-run media said American authorities had requested the UAE's help with an investigation into Ghafoor's alleged tax evasion and suspicious money transfers in the Emirates.
Gill cast doubt on that claim, saying, "If the US had anything against him, why wouldn't they just deal with it in the US?"
The autocratic Gulf Arab sheikhdom announced the prison sentence a day after Washington-based human rights watchdog Democracy for the Arab World Now, DAWN, raised alarm about its board member's arrest from Dubai International Airport.
DAWN said that Ghafoor, a close friend of Khashoggi who previously represented him and his fiance, Hatice Cengiz, was in transit to Istanbul on Thursday to attend a wedding when plainclothes Emirati security agents scooped him up and sent him to an Abu Dhabi detention facility before he could change planes.
The US Embassy in Abu Dhabi did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Will study US “chargesheet reports”, act on it, says Andhra CM on Adani bribery case
Amaravati (PTI): Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Friday said the state government is in possession of the "chargesheet reports" filed in the US related to the alleged bribery scam involving the previous YSRCP government and the Adani Group, and “promised” to act on the irregularities.
Business tycoon and Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani has been charged by the US Department of Justice over his role in an alleged years-long scheme to pay USD 250 million bribe to Indian officials in exchange for favourable terms for solar power contracts, an allegation refuted by the Indian conglomerate.
The previous YSRCP regime is embroiled in the alleged scam with claims that government officials received bribes from the Adani Group.
Addressing the Assembly, the Chief Minister said his government will study those charges and act on them.
"I have all the chargesheet reports filed there (US). It is in the public domain. Will study it (the allegations and indictment). Will act on it and inform you,” said Naidu.
He noted that over the past five months, the TDP-led government has been discussing the alleged corruption that took place between 2019 and 2024.
The YSRCP had on Thursday dismissed the allegations made against the government headed by it and said there was no direct agreement with the Adani group.
Highlighting that the allegations involving the YSRCP regime and Adani group, have hurt the prestige and brand image of the southern state, Naidu termed it as a "very sad development".
Some members in the House wanted former CM Jagan Mohan Reddy to be held accountable if the charges against him are proven.
