The Public Prosecution renewed its request for judges to impose extra fines on defendants in a major embezzlement case, a court heard yesterday.
In December, a businessman was found guilty of forgery, money laundering and defrauding people who put funds into his investment platform, and was sentenced to eight years in prison.
In the original High Criminal Court verdict, three accomplices – the company’s chief executive and two board members – were each sentenced to a year behind bars and received a BD5,000 fine each.
Now, the prosecution wants the financial penalties to be increased, and had lodged an appeal at the Supreme Criminal Appeals Court to that end.
“We stand before a case which encompasses various crimes, committed as part of a well-constructed criminal project – a solid plot,” Financial Crimes and Money Laundering Prosecution head Ahmed Al Qurashi addressed judges yesterday.
“Each defendant had a role in executing this plot, motivated by their own profit. This is proven to be true both by testimony and material evidence.
“These crimes have threatened the economy and the investment landscape, and harmed commercial activity and individuals’ rights.
“The chief testimony is the detailed confession of the first defendant in Public Prosecution questioning, having admitted to swindling the money of more than 1,000 investors through 388 bogus investments, worth a total of BD6,831,205.
“The prosecution believes that the first instance court made an error in applying the law, which has led the prosecution to intervene, and request that the error be corrected.”
Mr Al Qurashi went on to reiterate the prosecution’s call to fine the company’s top officials, who were convicted of aiding and abetting the well-known businessman.
In the original case, only the Bahraini magnate – the main defendant – was ordered to pay fines and restitution totalling nearly BD14 million and the accomplices were slapped with a BD5,000 fine.
Now, the Public Prosecution is asking the Supreme Criminal Appeals Court to fine the co-defendants BD320,000 for their participation in the scheme, stating that they helped the man launder that much.
A breakdown of the well-known businessman’s financial penalties are as follows: he was fined BD105,000, and the court ruled to confiscate BD6,831,205 of his property and assets, and ordered that he return BD6,831,707 as restitution to more than 350 victims who invested in his business empire.
In an earlier statement, the Public Prosecution disputed the court’s decision over the monetory fines imposed on the other convicts, in regards to the ‘application of the law’.
It had explained that the men had participated in the embezzlement, particularly in the last two investment deals, worth BD320,000.
The GDN earlier reported that the investment company, implicated in the case, is owned by the main suspect’s highly-successful parent company.
A tip from National Centre for Financial Investigations sparked the investigation, stating that the suspects tricked individuals into investing in the company through bogus, falsified business deals.
The centre had received a financial report indicating that the owner took a number of suspicious actions, like submitting dud cheques to the company’s accountants, withdrawing funds from the its accounts with no clear justification, and making payments that were not indicated in any written contracts.
He reportedly used several registered companies as a pretence, falsely claiming that their owners needed funding to grow their ventures, then presented them as investment opportunities to his targets.
“When the investors agreed to finance the businesses, he swindled the money they put in, using the funds to his own advantage, carrying out transactions to lend them legitimacy,” read an earlier statement.
Prosecutors earlier stated that the three co-defendants had abetted him in these crimes by enabling him to ‘execute his criminal project’ through their various specialised roles in his companies.
They accused the three of knowing of the scheme but did not alerting investors, thereby allowing the owner to pocket the money.
The Central Bank of Bahrain audit stated that the defendant authored and signed the cheques, and addressed them to his name. He used the embezzled money to pay off debts and loans, the court heard.
The businessman’s assets were frozen, and the prosecution appointed a manager to administrate his holdings. A travel ban was also placed to forbid him from leaving the country.
Three attorneys, representing the 352 victims earlier requested court documents, so they can pursue civil litigation after the trial ends.
zainab@gdnmedia.bh
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