Money Laundering In Boston: Man From Cypress Pleads Guilty

BOSTON, MA — A man from Cyprus pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to money laundering.

Esam Sakkal, 40, of Cyprus, pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering conspiracy and two counts of laundering of monetary instruments. U.S. District Court Judge Rya W. Zobel scheduled sentencing for July 10, 2018.

In June 2017, Sakkal and his brother, Nabeel Sakkal, who also went by Traycho Marinov Mitchov, Nabil Cieckal, and Nabil Imadein Bazul Siggal, a dual national of Cyprus and Jordan, were indicted.

Nabeel Sakkal remains at large.

According to court documents, on numerous occasions between 2009 and 2014, the Sakkals met with a United States undercover law enforcement agent posing as a member of a drug organization whose role it was to launder money from drug sales. According to court documents, the Sakkals laundered money given to them by the undercover agent, believing the money to be proceeds from drug sales.

The charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering and laundering monetary instruments provide for a sentence, as to each count, of no greater than 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Previously on Patch:

Brothers nabbed in Undercover Drug Money Laundering Operation