A convicted serial conman and his legal adviser are on trial for allegedly redirecting court notifications intended for 12 individuals in an attempt to prevent them from defending themselves in legal proceedings.
The court heard that the first defendant filed lawsuits through the Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments Ministry’s (MOJ) website, but allegedly entered the second defendant’s phone number and a business address instead of the victims’ actual contact information.
As a result, the individuals reportedly never received official notifications informing them that legal action had been filed against them. Prosecutors said this deprived the victims of the opportunity to present a defence and ‘harmed their legal standing’.
According to the prosecution, the notifications were sent directly to the legal adviser, leaving some of the 12 individuals unaware of the cases against them and causing them to miss all hearings in civil lawsuits filed by the first defendant.
However, it is unclear what cases the 12 individuals are involved in.
The 53-year-old Bahraini businessman and the 44-year-old document clearance specialist were charged with entering false information into the digital systems of the MoJ and the Information and eGovernment Authority (iGA).
Prosecutors stated that they knowingly lied on online forms of the government bodies, omitting ‘essential information’ from their lawsuit applications.
They were also charged with feeding false data into government systems with the intention of presenting it as genuine.
Police reportedly went to the address entered, and found that it belongs to one of the companies owned by the serial conman, while investigations proved that the number was legally registered under the second defendant’s name.
The same phone number and address were allegedly used as contact details for 12 different individuals across multiple court cases over a period of time.
Prosecutors further stated that no one had been authorised to act on behalf of the first defendant or use e-services in his name, and that the lawsuits had been filed using his personal eKey.
The 44-year-old stated in prosecution hearings that he worked as document clearance officer for several companies owned by his accomplice, from 2008 and 2022, and that he was tasked with keeping track of cases and financial claims.
He also claimed that his co-defendant was known for deceptive business practices, alleging that he sold mobile phones, electronic devices and gold bullion on installment plans while charging excessive prices.
The 53-year-old businessman, meanwhile, denied knowledge of the alleged practices, telling prosecutors that he was rarely present at his offices and spent much of his time attending court proceedings.
Previously a top official at one of Bahrain’s largest companies was convicted of fraud, embezzlement and scamming customers in many cases over the years, and served time in jail.
The GDN reported in 2015 that he was jailed for one year after being found guilty of deceiving a customer into paying more than BD4,000 for a laptop and mobile phone worth only BD800.
The trial continues.
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