Qatar court convicts 16 for bribery, money laundering

Qatar criminal court

The Public Prosecution announced that the competent court had issued a ruling in the case of the 16 defendants referred by the Public Prosecution, including 4 employees of Hamad Medical Corporation, to the competent criminal court for several crimes.

The court’s ruling came “in addition to the statement issued by the Attorney General’s Office on 7/5/2023 referring 16 defendants, including 4 employees of Hamad Medical Corporation, to the competent criminal.”

These crimes include bribery, exploitation, harming public funds, violating the freedom and integrity of state-related tenders, and money laundering.

The competent court punished the four defendants who are HMC employees with imprisonment with the first defendant, a Qatari official, being given a prison sentence of 15 years and a fine of QR729 million.

The second defendant, a Jordanian national, will face imprisonment for 11 years and a fine of QR171 million.

The third defendant, a Palestinian national, was sentenced to 10 years and a fine of QR144 million.

The fourth and last of the HMC employees, an Indian national, was sentenced to 14 years in prison and a QR313 million fine.

Ten other defendants, including two of Qatari nationality and owners of companies contracting with Hamad Medical Corporation, were punished with imprisonment for a period of 5 years and a fine of QR228 million for one of them, and imprisonment for a period of 8 years and a fine of QR25 million for the other defendant.

8 defendants who worked for those companies, among whom six of Indian nationality and two of Jordanian nationality, were given a 14-year prison sentence for two of the defendants, 8 years for two other defendants, 10 years for one defendant, 6 years for one defendant, 5 years for one defendant, and 4 years for one defendant.

The amount for the fine imposed for the eight defendants varied, with the maximum amounting to 195 million riyals and the minimum amounting to 5 million riyals.

The court also ordered the deportation of the non-Qataris from the country after having completed their sentences.

The court also acquitted two of the defendants, one of whom was of Qatari nationality and the other of Jordanian nationality.