A MANAGER of a state-owned company did not disclose work secrets to a private business according to a defence witness, a court heard.
The 50-year-old operations manager was giving evidence yesterday in the trial of a 45-year-old Bahraini facing forgery charges by the High Criminal Court.
He is standing trial along with his former American colleague and a third accomplice who allegedly had a stake in obtaining the ‘secret information’.
The manager has been charged with revealing confidential secrets to harm his place of work for personal benefit, along with his alleged accomplices.
However, the defence witness said that the production statistics were available on the Internet and anyone could obtain the information.
“The defendant did not disclose any secrets,” the Bahraini witness told a leading judge. “We have a board at the entrance of our work premises which contains the daily production numbers.
“In addition, this information is available on the Internet. The emails he sent to his co-defendants did not contain classified information.”
Lawyer Islam Ghunaim, representing the defendants, requested his clients’ acquittal. The trial has been adjourned until Tuesday for review.
The court heard earlier that the Public Prosecution had launched a probe after being notified of the results of an investigation by the Anti-Corruption Directorate.
The manager allegedly falsified a document attributed to a foreign bank, with an aim to submit it to other government authorities in Bahrain, the prosecutor of financial crimes and money laundering claimed.
The third accomplice, a 40-year-old Bahraini, operated a private firm under contract with the manager’s company.
Authorities earlier revealed that the suspects were arrested after telephone calls and messages exchanged between them were recorded and monitored. Subsequently, officials launched a search of their homes and workplaces and confiscated electronic devices.
The 67-year-old American defendant, who is at large, is standing trial in absentia.
A detective told the court that the manager of the company had access to key information as he had been employed there since 2014.
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