Kuwait recovers over $4mln from Bahrain in joint judicial effort

TDT | Manama     

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Over $4 million in assets and funds have been recovered from the Kingdom of Bahrain as part of a judicial cooperation effort with Kuwait, the Bahraini Public Prosecution announced yesterday.

This recovery is linked to a ruling against Fahad Al Rajaan, a Kuwaiti businessman who formerly served as chairman of a major bank in Bahrain, and his wife Mona Al-Wazzan.

In a statement, the Public Prosecution emphasised the significance of this collaborative judicial action between Bahrain and Kuwait. Al Rajaan, who passed away in 2022, was a notable figure in the finance industry.

From 1992 to 2015, he served as the company director of a major bank and held several senior roles, including chairmanship position in Bahrain’s largest lender by market share. Dramatic His story is a dramatic one.

Following criminal complaints about his tenure as head of the Public Institute for Social Security (PIFSS), his family’s assets were frozen in Kuwait.

He was on Interpol’s radar and spent years abroad to avoid arrest. In April 2017, Al Rajaan was arrested in London at Kuwait’s request, having already been convicted in absentia of corruption and embezzlement.

In June 2019, the Kuwaiti criminal court sentenced both him and his wife to life imprisonment in absentia, ordered the confiscation of their personal property, and demanded the repayment of $82 million, along with fines totaling twice that amount.