Ministry pulls the plug on firm

Manama

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The sole outlet of an international company in Bahrain had been sealed off by the authorities due to its continuous breach of the commercial law in the Kingdom.

The gates of Unicity International Headquarters in Bahrain, located in the Diplomatic Area, were shut down by the Commercial Registration Directorate in Industry and Commerce Ministry last Sunday.

Although the Ministry didn’t announce the closure of the company yet, it had earlier limited Unicity’s activities in the country. It is said that the company apparently sold its products following pyramid schemes and network marketing strategies, which are prohibited in the Kingdom.

As announced by the Ministry last February, Industry and Commerce Minister Zayed Al Zayani issued a Ministerial order (Number 2) of 2015 to ban selling products through pyramid scheme and network marketing in Bahrain.

The company, which sells healthcare, weight control and nutrition products, mainly depended on strategies similar to the recently banned pyramid schemes and network marketing.

It actually discontinued such marketing methods and depended on direct sales at its outlet following the issuance of the Minister’s decision.

“We’re not registering any new salespersons at the moment and our management will inform the public if any updates occurred,” an employee told DT News on condition of anonymity a few months ago. Yet, the company’s management refused to comment on the matter.

In a press statement that was issued by the Ministry earlier, Consumer Protection Director Senan Al Jabery said, “The Ministerial order was issued as a response to complaints about such practices that aren’t suitable to laws and regulations in Bahrain, especially the consumer protection law.”

He elaborated: “The idea of the pyramid scheme and network marketing is to convince a person to buy a product and then convince others to buy and the chain continues, in which the first buyer gets more commissions if he has more members under him.”

A citizen, who was once approached by a salesperson of Unicity, informed that individual and group meetings and introductory lectures were organised at the company’s headquarters on a daily basis, to register new salespersons and widen its network.

The Ministry also stated: “Some companies following such operations have been contacted to mend their activities and adhere to the Ministerial order. The Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry has been told to inform commercial sector such as hotels and hall renting companies not to allow meetings to promote these two types of marketing at their venues.” “The Ministry has started certain administrative and legal procedures in this regards.”