The Cassation Court has upheld the guilt of forgers who embezzled BD86,600 from the Labour Fund (Tamkeen) when two became three after a series of appeals.
In October, the Lower Criminal Court sentenced two of the appellants to three years in prison, and fined them BD5,000 and BD1,000, respectively, while a third suspect was acquitted.
The court also ordered the deportation of the first suspect, although his nationality was not listed in court documents.
The Public Prosecution appealed the third man’s innocence, requesting that judges overturn the decision, and the High Criminal Appeals Court sentenced him also to three years in prison and fined him BD1,000.
Appeal judges further upheld the sentences of the first two conspirators.
According to prosecutors, they submitted a number of contracts that made it appear that they employed 23 jobless Bahrainis, going on to register the bogus employees with the Social Insurance Organisation and the Labour Ministry.
The two appellants exploited the National Employment Programme’s wage increment scheme, which aims to encourage private companies to employ Bahrainis.
The racket was discovered when inspectors, who are tasked with overseeing the programme and its beneficiaries, attempted to conduct a field visit to the establishment.
Officials from the Labour Fund Violations Committee went to the address listed on the company’s commercial registration (CR), only to discover that there was no office to be found, and that none of the registered employees actually worked there.
It became apparent that the company and its owners were receiving wage support and keeping all the money to themselves through the fabrication of contracts and impersonating unemployed individuals.
The accused were convicted of forging official documents with the intention to swindle public funds between 2022 and 2023.
In trial documents, the first appellant was listed as the main mastermind of the scheme, while the other two men were accused of aiding and abetting him.
After the initial verdict, the GDN reported a statement in which the prosecution revealed it was ‘studying the reasons behind the third suspect’s acquittal’ in order to appeal the verdict and convince judges to convict him, and ultimately succeeded.
Following the High Criminal Appeals Court’s ruling, the three men took to Bahrain’s highest court to lodge a second appeal. The Cassation Court also upheld the sentences.
zainab@gdnmedia.bh
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