TWO Bahrain-based businessmen, jailed for 10 years on charges of defrauding a bank as part of a major international scam, have been acquitted of new charges they faced in the kingdom.
British expatriates Charles Ridley, 62, and Ryan Cornelius, 66, who lived in Janusan, remain behind bars in the UAE and were among eight people standing trial in absentia at the High Criminal Court in Bahrain in connection to alleged money laundering offences.
The accused were acquitted due to a lack of evidence yesterday. “All the defendants have been found not guilty of the charges,” read the court ruling.
According to case files, the co-accused were Cornelius’ sales manager wife, two Indians, a Bahraini, a Turk and an American – all businessmen.
The court heard they were allegedly helped by two other men, now deceased, one of whom was the Bahraini businessman’s late brother. Fifteen companies, owned by the defendants, were implicated in the case.
The defendants were accused of transferring BD76m into Bahrain in an attempt to legitimise the funds, according to court documents.
A detective claimed the defendants were part of a ‘professional international network’ who all played ‘individual specific roles’.
The alleged fraud hinged on an elaborate scheme involving a German-based corporation, two Dubai bank executives and a web of ‘forged documents’ and invoices related to companies that did not exist, the court heard.
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