A London-based Indian-origin financial manager has been sentenced to 24 months in prison for his role in British businessman Hemant Lakhani's plot to smuggle shoulder-fired missiles into the United States to sell them to terrorists.
Forty-five-year old Manthena Raja faced a sentence of 37 to 46 months under federal guidelines but prosecution on Thursday recommended a lesser term of 24 months, in view of his cooperation in the Lakhani case.
He had pleaded guilty to a single count of money laundering after he told prosecutors about two cash transfers from the US, worth $86,500 even though he knew that the money was for an illegal arms deal.
Raja was also asked to give $86,500 dollars to government, the amount he laundered, as restitution.
Indian-origin British arms dealer Lakhani was arrested in an FBI sting operation in 2003 and was sentenced to 47 years in prison. He was charged with trying to smuggle shoulder-fired missiles to the US to sell them to a group, which he thought would shoot down commercial aircraft.
The missile seller and buyer were actually government agents and the missile he had imported into the US from Russia was a dud.
