Man gets 37 months for Pakistan money transfers
A Pakistani citizen was sentenced yesterday to 37 months in prison for using his Philadelphia-based money-transfer business to send more than $2 million to a bank in a Taliban-controlled territory in Pakistan, federal prosecutors said.
A Pakistani citizen was sentenced yesterday to 37 months in prison for using his Philadelphia-based money-transfer business to send more than $2 million to a bank in a Taliban-controlled territory in Pakistan, federal prosecutors said.
Habib Khan, 49, who has lived in the United States illegally for the last five years, transferred the money to a bank in Swat region, where his brothers distributed the funds. At least one of his customers used Khan's business to pay ransom for a kidnapped family member.
Prosecutors said it was unlikely that Khan could have dispensed the millions of dollars without paying a tribute or a bribe to Taliban officials. In addition, Khan never obtained a license to operate the business and never registered the business with the federal government, as required by law.
Khan, convicted in April, was also ordered by U.S. District Judge Joel H. Slomsky to pay a $126,000 fine and serve three years of supervised release following his prison term. - Sam Wood