A US court has sentenced a Pakistan national to 27 months of imprisonment on charges of illegally sending at least $2.1 million to the restive Swat Valley of Pakistan.
The money was sent by Habib Khan, 49, a resident of Philadelphia, from November 2001 through February 2009, the Department of Justice said in a press release issued on Monday.
Khan, a citizen of Pakistan, pleaded guilty last April, admitting that he operated a business in which he charged a fee to wire or transport at least $ 2.1 million to beneficiaries in the Swat region of Pakistan, the Justice Department said.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
“Khan never obtained a license to operate such a business and never registered this business with the federal government, as required by law,” it alleged.
“Additionally, in an effort to hide the activities of his illegal business, Khan structured financial transactions with a local bank in order to prevent the bank from filing currency transaction reports with the federal government,” the FBI said.
In addition to the prison sentence, US District Court Judge Joel H. Slomsky ordered Khan to forfeit $ 126,000, pay a $ 300 special assessment fine, and complete three years of supervised release following his prison term.
