Bahrain’s top Shiite cleric went on trial Wednesday on charges of illegal fund raising and money laundering, judicial sources said, just weeks his citizenship was revoked.
Sheikh Isa Qassim is accused of collecting funds illegally and has deposited more than $10 million in his private bank accounts, attorney general Haroun Al-Zayani said in a statement on the official BNA news agency.
Qassim, considered the spiritual leader of the Shiite community in Bahrain, allegedly kept other amounts in cash to avoid legal controls, said the statement, accusing him of hiding the source of the money.
Authorities also accused him of purchasing properties worth more than one million dinar ($2.65 million) in an attempt to legitimize the funds.
Two of his aides, Sheikh Hussein Mahrus and Mirza Al-Obaidli, are also on trial in the same case.
The three defendants did not appear in court for the hearing, held amid tight security, witnesses said. The next hearing will be on Aug. 14.
On June 20, Bahrain said it had revoked Qassim’s citizenship, accusing him of sowing sectarian divisions.
This month, a court ordered the dissolution of the main Shiite opposition bloc, Al-Wefaq.

Source: Arab News