Balvinder Singh Sahni, a Dubai-based Indian billionaire, was sentenced to 5 years in jail on money laundering charges. The court ordered the confiscation of 150 million AED ( ₹344 crore) from the businessman, in addition to 5,00,000 AED ( ₹1.14 crore), Gulf News reported.
Balvinder Singh Sahni, popularly known as ‘Abu Sabah’, is the founder of Raj Sahni Group (RSG), a company operating in the UAE, the US, India, and other countries. He is also known for his lavish spending, including buying a single-digit car plate ‘D5’ for Dh33 million at a special auction for distinguished number plates, reportedly one of the most expensive in the Emirates.
Here’s a look at the extravagant expenses of Abu Sabah —
In 2016, Balvinder Singh Sahni gained significant attention for purchasing the Dubai license plate “D5” for AED 33 million (nearly ₹80 crore) and the “O9” plate for AED 24.5 million, referring to his belief in the lucky number 9.
Sahni is a “businessman whose love for the number 9, the colour blue, luxury cars, and rare licence plates made headlines more often than his commercial ventures,” Khaleej Times reported.
“I like collecting unique number plates and I am proud to have got this number. I like number nine and D5 adds up to nine, so I went for it,” Sahni said in a YouTube video on the “Mo Vlogs” channel. He lives in a luxurious and lavish $100 million mansion in Dubai. Sahni also bought a mobile number (058-8888888) for AED 4.5 million.
In a 2022 interview, he reportedly said, “I have both Dubai 5 and Abu Dhabi 5….I don’t even know how many cars I have. My number plates alone are worth more than my vehicles.”
His other lavish expenses include a collection of Rolls-Royce cars, a Mercedes-AMG G63, a mansion including customised Bentley furniture and a Bugatti Chiron display, the Mo Vlogs video showed.
Allegations against Balvinder Singh Sahni
Balvinder Singh Sahni was accused of laundering money through a criminal organisation. He was sentenced and fined for laundering Dh150 million through a network of shell companies and suspicious financial transactions. The Dubai Court ordered Sahni’s deportation after release and confiscation of his funds, electronic devices, and financial records.