Computer shop employee jailed for stealing BD26,000 from customer

TDT | Manama                                    

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

An employee at a phone and computer shop has been sentenced to five years in prison in absentia after he stole BD26,000 from a customer.

The employee gained access to the customer’s bank accounts through financial applications on the customer’s phone and stole the amount before fleeing Bahrain. The victim had visited the shop and asked the employee to download a banking transaction application on his mobile phone.

The employee downloaded the application and asked the victim for his bank card details and PIN, but the victim later discovered that he did not receive any SMS notifications from the bank.

Upon checking with the bank, he realised that large sums of money had been withdrawn from his account over a period of two months, totalling approximately BD26,000.

The victim filed a criminal complaint, and investigations confirmed that the employee had downloaded the victim’s bank card details through the banking transaction application and transferred BD15,871 to his own bank account.

The remaining amount was transferred to other bank accounts belonging to individuals who were unaware of the employee’s actions. It was discovered that the employee had purchased goods from these individuals using the stolen money.

The owner of the shop stated that the employee had been hired as a sales representative from 2018 until 2022 with a monthly salary of BD150, and he discovered that the employee had left Bahrain without his knowledge. He also stole mobile phones and cash from them before fleeing.