A Laval resident, who was arrested during an FBI investigation for allegedly embezzling more than $200,000 in Quebec bank accounts owned by him, now faces up to 20 years in prison in the United States.
Hossam Al-Atat appeared before a judge in Buffalo, New York, earlier this month, on charges of international money laundering conspiracy. The 44-year-old Quebecer had just been extradited from Spain, where he was arrested.
This entire saga allegedly began in March 2021 when a customer's email account at a boating equipment store in Syracuse, the state capital, was hacked.
The man believes he made two bank transfers totaling the equivalent of about $400,000 Canadian dollars to the seller in order to purchase a boat. However, it could have been sent to a fraudulent account, which had no connection to this business, as we stated in the FBI affidavit.
The US domestic intelligence service was quickly informed of the fraud and was thus able to collect information from the account that received the bank transfer. Its owner told investigators he was “unaware” that the money “was the result of fraudulent activity,” according to court documents seen by the court. newspaper.
Towards a Quebec account
The FBI continued to trace this amount and noted that more than $240,000 had been transferred to Desjardins' bank account.
The organization's fraud prevention department intervened with its owner, a financial advisor from the greater Montreal area.
He was warned that “if the internal investigation into the transaction concludes that the transfer was fraudulent, Desjardins will be required to report it.” [l’Autorité des marchés financiers]”.
No penalty has yet been recorded against the financial advisor, and the Arab Monetary Fund refused to indicate whether an investigation into this matter is ongoing. No criminal charges were brought against him.
Scattered money
But the money would continue to circulate in Quebec: it would be distributed to several other accounts, most of which belonged to shell companies whose president was Houssem El Atat.
The money was then “distributed to the defendant, Hossam Al-Atat, withdrawn in cash and sent to other people,” the affidavit stated.
According to the FBI, which cooperated with the Sûreté du Québec in this investigation, more than $60,000 was withdrawn and a transfer was sent to a luxury car rental company in Laval.
This case against Al-Atat was opened in the summer of 2023. But just a few weeks ago he appeared before an American judge for the first time.
He now faces up to 20 years in prison and fines totaling more than $675,000.
With Nicolas Brasseur, Bureau of Investigation
