Around the same time US authorities began looking into OneCoin, Dubai’s General Department of Criminal Investigations raised money laundering concerns.

How the parallel investigations concluded however, couldn’t be any more different.

In November 2015 Public Prosecutors in Dubai received a report from the Director of the General Department of Criminal Investigations.

The report detailed

the involvement of Ruja Ignatova in money laundering operations in favor of suspicious international bodies.

These allegations were based on “reports of suspicious transactions” from several UAE banks.

Funds in question were frozen, pending the outcome of a regulatory investigation.

As
observed by Mashreq Bank
, Ignatova was laundering OneCoin funds from HSBC accounts in Hong Kong.

The GDCI’s investigation extended beyond Mashreq Bank. As part of the investigation they sought clarification from HSBC as to the nature of Ignatova’s transactions.

In a spectacular display of regulatory non-compliance, HSBC ignored them.

Commercial Bank of Dubai has contracted the transferring bank in Hong Kong, inquiring about the details of the financial and commercial relationship between the transferor and the beneficiary in the UAE, and whether the bank in Hong Kong is reassured of the nature and sources of the sums transferred, as well as scanning copies of the portfolio of commercial documents and commercial contracts.

The bank in Hong Kong did not respond to the inquiries sent by Commercial Bank of Dubai and only stated the reason for the two financial transfers, i.e. the payment of loans.

The transferring bank refused to give more detailed information on the inquiries and requests made by the Commercial Bank of Dubai despite repeated requests.

The reason HSBC pushed back on the requests is obvious; they didn’t do any due-diligence on Ignatova or the source of funds she was laundering into the UAE.

Additional reports were received from United Arab Bank and Noor Bank, citing concerns with accounts and transactions facilitated by Sebastian Greenwood.

The Central Bank’s Anti-Money Laundering and Financial Intelligence Unit received a suspicious banking transaction report from United Arab Bank regarding Karl Sebastian Greenwood and a lady called Tasmiya Kauser (she was working in Mashreq Bank as an administrative officer) and she was supervisor of bank accounts for which suspicious banking transaction reports referred to in the report were filed by Mashreq Bank.

Mashreq Bank’s filed SAR mentioned “special emphasis on staff collusion”.

This appears to be confirmed via a separate SAR filed by HSBC’s Dubai branch.

HSBC Bank (Dubai branch) submitted a suspicious banking transaction report on the personal account of the lady Tasmiya Kauser.

The bank stated in the report that during her work with Mashreq Bank, which ran for a period not exceeding (5) months, she deposited sums of money amounting to AED 4.2 million paid from SS FZC and from Karl Sebastian Greenwood.

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🤖 Quick Answer

What money laundering concerns did Dubai's authorities raise regarding OneCoin?
Dubai's General Department of Criminal Investigations reported suspicious transactions involving Ruja Ignatova in money laundering operations. UAE banks filed reports documenting illicit fund transfers, leading authorities to freeze accounts pending regulatory investigation into OneCoin fund movements through HSBC accounts in Hong Kong.

How did Dubai's investigation differ from US authorities' approach to OneCoin?
While US authorities pursued active investigations into OneCoin's fraudulent scheme, Dubai's parallel inquiry concluded differently. Despite documented evidence of money laundering through suspicious transactions and frozen funds, Dubai's regulatory process reached distinct conclusions regarding enforcement and prosecution of the cryptocurrency fraud case.

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