Two arrested for receiving funds from Qatar illegally

The High Criminal Court will hear arguments in the high-profile case of two men, who were found to have received funds from abroad without authorisation from the competent authority, on December 3. Based on the investigation conducted by the Public Prosecution, Advocate General Dr Ahmed Al Hammadi said two Bahraini nationals received money from former Qatari minister Abdullah bin Khalid Al Thani through bank accounts.

Investigators also found that the suspect visited Qatar on various occasions to receive payments directly. One of the suspects, according to investigators, used the money to support his electoral campaign for the parliamentary elections. Their intentions, one of the suspects confessed during interrogations, were to undermine the national interests by interfering in the internal affairs of Bahrain and influencing the work of the legislative institutions to serve Qatari interests.

A judicial permission was issued to control and record telephone calls between the suspects, which confirmed the investigations. Following an order by the Public Prosecution, the two suspects were arrested at Bahrain International Airport upon their return from Qatar with more than BD12,000 and 5000 Qatari Riyals in their possession without declaring them at the Customs Department.