Dubai: The Dubai Court of Cassation has brought to an end the high-profile money laundering case involving Indian businessman Balvinder Singh Sahni, widely known as ‘Abu Sabah’, after partially overturning a ruling issued by the Court of Appeal.
According to Emarat Al Youm and Al Khaleej, the Cassation Court cancelled the proportional fine of Dirham 150 million (Rs 3,67,02,31,500) that had been imposed jointly on Sahni and the other defendants. The court replaced the fine with an order to confiscate the funds involved in the crime, while upholding all other penalties.
The final judgment confirmed Sahni’s five-year prison sentence, a separate fine of Dh 500,000 (Rs 1,22,34,250.00), confiscation of proceeds linked to the offence, and his deportation from the UAE after completing the sentence. Prison terms, fines and confiscation orders imposed on the remaining defendants were also upheld.
The court clarified that cancelling the proportional fine did not remove criminal responsibility, but reflected the correct application of the law. It said confiscation was the most effective legal mechanism to recover illicit funds and curb organised financial crime, while maintaining custodial and supplementary penalties to ensure deterrence.
Background to the case
The case dates back to May, when the Dubai Criminal Court convicted Sahni and 32 others, including his son, for operating an organised money laundering network. The court sentenced him to five years in prison, imposed a Dh 500,000 fine, ordered the confiscation of Dh 150 million in criminal proceeds and ruled that he would be deported after serving his sentence.
In August, the Dubai Court of Appeal upheld the prison term and deportation but increased the financial penalty, ordering Sahni and the other defendants to jointly pay Dh 150 million (about Rs 358 crore at the time) a proportional fine. The prosecution had argued that the illicit funds amounted to Dh 180 million (Rs 4,40,43,30,000), while the defence challenged the legality of the confiscation and fines.
The case originated from a report filed with Dubai Police and was referred to the Public Prosecution in December 2024. Investigations uncovered a complex money laundering network that used shell companies, suspicious financial transfers and digital currencies, including Bitcoin, to conceal proceeds of serious crimes such as drug trafficking and tax evasion committed outside the UAE.
Authorities said the network operated across multiple jurisdictions, moving large sums through sophisticated financial structures in breach of the UAE’s Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Law.
Sahni, who runs a property business with operations in the UAE and abroad, is known for his lavish lifestyle and made headlines in 2016 after purchasing the single-digit licence plate “5” for Dh 33 million (Rs 80,74,60,500) at a Dubai auction.
