Bahrain court convicts Asian businessman of embezzlement

TDT | Manama     

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

The Bahrain High Appeals Court has overturned the acquittal of an Asian businessman and convicted him of embezzling over BD64,000 from a contracting company he jointly managed with his friend, the victim in the case.

The court sentenced the defendant to one year in prison, ordered him to return the embezzled amount, and referred the civil claim to the competent court without expenses.

As per the court records, the victim had agreed with the defendant to establish three limited liability companies to construct floating structures and buildings, and complete and finish buildings, including decoration work and other activities.

They agreed to share profits and losses equally, with each partner contributing BD19,877.83.

The victim paid his share as agreed.

Liabilities

The victim discovered numerous instances of embezzlement by the defendant from the company, resulting in direct liabilities due to his deliberate plundering of funds.

The defendant retained the exclusive right to sign checks, and the company experienced significant losses.

A forensic accountant was appointed to investigate the cause of the substantial losses.

The audit revealed checks worth BD87,000 drawn by the defendant. When confronted, he admitted to withdrawing the checks for personal use without providing any reason related to the company.

Verdict

A criminal complaint was filed, and the Public Prosecution referred the defendant to court on charges of embezzlement.

However, the first-instance court acquitted him and dismissed the civil claim.

The prosecution and the civil claimant appealed the verdict. The court found that the defendant had committed the crime of embezzlement.

It unanimously accepted the appeals, overturned the previous judgement, and sentenced the defendant to one year in prison.

The court also ordered him to return the embezzled amount of BD64,820 and ruled for his final deportation from the country after serving his sentence.

The civil claim was referred to the competent court without expenses.