Bahrain Mirror: The second lower criminal court sentenced a known businessman and television producer to three years in prison for embezzling around 200 Bahraini and Gulf investors. The court fined the defendant 50 thousand dinars, ordered the confiscation of the crime revenues and referral of civil case to the competent court without expenses.

Complaints from Bahraini and Gulf investors have been submitted to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry stating that the accused businessman seized large sums of money for the purpose of investing in foreign companies that are not authorized to collect and receive money in Bahrain, exploiting his licensed company. The Ministry stated that the defendant is not licensed to do mediation work.

Investigations revealed that the businessman was able, with the help of his European wife and her sister, to mediate in the collection of millions of dinars from the victims for the purpose of investing in foreign companies that are not licensed to collect and receive money in Bahrain. In return, he received cash commissions and shares from each transaction.

The money was sent to foreign accounts outside of Bahrain as well as to his personal account and his company's account in exchange for the purchased shares. Victims receive shares for the money they paid in these companies without any cash payment because the companies claimed that they went bankrupt or liquidated or didn't receive the money.

The defendant was mentioned in a local newspaper end of 2014, announcing that around 100 Bahraini investors, including him, invested in more than 40 million GBP in return for a strategic share in a company that manufactures medical DNA diagnostic machines.

A letter from the British company stated that it did not receive any money in return for shares from the defendant, he rather received shares from the company as commissions, as he was not entitled to sell them.

Arabic version