Bahraini Buyer Cheated by Absconding Real Estate Developer

TDT - Manama

The Daily Tribune - www.newsofbahrain.com

In a case that underscores the risks associated with real estate investments, a Bahraini Court has ruled in favour of a buyer who was defrauded by a property developer who later fled the country.

According to the details of the case, the anonymous buyer entered into a preliminary purchase agreement for an apartment with the developer in September 2022. The total purchase price was set at 32,000 Bahraini dinars, with the buyer paying an initial 12,000 dinars upon signing the agreement. The remaining 20,000 dinars was to be paid in instalments over 40 months.

However, in December 2022, the buyer decided to pay the remaining balance in full and requested the final transfer of ownership. Much to the buyer's dismay, the developer refused to complete the transaction and began evading the buyer's requests.

Further investigation revealed that the apartment was mortgaged to a bank, and the developer had absconded from the country, having knowingly misled the buyer and accepted the payments despite being unable to transfer the ownership.

The buyer, represented by lawyer Bandar Shamal Al Dooseri, filed a lawsuit against the developer and his company, seeking to rescind the preliminary purchase agreement and recover the 13,000 Bahraini dinars already paid.

Initially, the court dismissed the buyer's claim, ruling that the buyer's request to pay the full price did not follow the proper legal procedures. However, the buyer appealed the decision and presented evidence that the developer did not actually own the apartment.

Upon reviewing the evidence, including a statement from the Land and Real Estate Registration Authority confirming the apartment's ownership by the developer, the court of appeal ruled in favour of the buyer.

The court found the developer liable for the damages caused to the buyer due to his fraudulent actions and ordered him to return the 13,000 Bahraini Dinars to the buyer and to return the apartment to the developer's company. The developer was also ordered to pay the buyer's legal fees and expenses.