Dubai Court Fines Indian Businessman ‘Abu Sabah’ ₹358 Crore in Money Laundering Case

Indian businessman Balvinder Singh Sahni, popularly known as Abu Sabah, has been ordered by a Dubai court to jointly pay Dh150 million (₹358 crore) with his co-defendants in a high-profile money laundering case. Earlier, Sahni was sentenced to five years in prison and fined ₹1 crore, with the court stating he will be deported immediately after serving his sentence.

Charges and Investigation
Court documents cited by UAE state-owned The National revealed that Sahni laundered funds using digital currencies, including Bitcoin, between October 2018 and January 2019. The investigation uncovered a network of 30 individuals collaborating with organized crime groups in the UK, with defendants from India, Pakistan, the UK, Iraq, Jordan, Palestine, and the Netherlands.

Funds owned by UK-based drug traffickers were reportedly transferred to digital wallets controlled by Sahni and his family. Co-defendants then converted the funds into cash and delivered it to a rented apartment in a luxury Dubai hotel. Sahni allegedly kept a four percent fee before depositing the remainder into his companies’ accounts.

About Abu Sabah
Sahni owns multiple luxury properties in Dubai, including the Burj Sabah apartments in Jumeirah Village Circle, Qasr Sabah in Dubai Sports City, and several commercial properties in Business Bay and Sabah Dubai Skyline. He frequently showcased his collection of luxury cars on Instagram and in 2016 purchased the single-digit Dubai license plate ‘5’ for Dh33 million (approximately ₹60 crore at the time).

Extent of the Laundering
Prosecutors claimed Sahni laundered over Dh180 million (₹430 crore), though the Court of Appeal confirmed the total at Dh150 million.