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Three executives and a company are on trial for allegedly evading BD52,000 in value-added tax (VAT), with one defendant claiming that the matter had already been settled with the National Bureau for Revenue (NBR).
Two British expats and a Jordanian general manager have been charged with tax evasion. The latter said an agreement had been reached with the NBR, but the case was nevertheless referred to criminal court.
“We cannot pay up because our bank accounts have been frozen, even though we have more than enough to settle the outstanding payments,” the 35-year-old Jordanian said.
“The company had negotiated a payment plan with the NBR, and we’ve been paying monthly, but then our commercial registration (CR) was suspended.
“This has halted the company’s operations, and we are unable to pay the remaining amount owed.”
He said the 68-year-old British business owner who founded the company was convicted of embezzlement and fraud three years ago and sentenced to five years in prison.
A new administration was put in place by the parent company to settle all the firm’s dues to banks, government entities and other companies, he said, adding that BD50,000 had so far been paid to creditors.
He claimed a criminal complaint was nevertheless forwarded to the Public Prosecution despite the company’s compliance and co-operation with the NBR.
An NBR document showed that BD10,000 of the outstanding amount was paid in June.
At the High Criminal Court, the three expats are standing trial alongside the company itself, which has been charged as an ‘artificial person’.
The four defendants are accused of failing to pay BD52,507 to the NBR, within the legally-mandated period, for VAT owed between 2022 and 2025, even though 11 periodical tax reports had been filed.
The 68-year-old Brit was deemed responsible for BD3,536 of the amount, while the 24-year-old and Jordanian were accused of being responsible for the remaining BD48,971.
According to the Sijilat commercial register portal, the firm is a branch of a foreign company, with the younger defendants appointed as authorised signatories after the founder was removed. Since both Brits are not in Bahrain to testify in the case, the only defendant who gave his account to the prosecution was the Jordanian.
In his testimony, he claimed he was not involved in the company’s financial administration, had no access to its bank accounts and held no financial authority beyond being a signatory.
“The first defendant (68) was in control of all the company’s operations, both financially and administratively,” the Jordanian executive stated. “I was hired as a project manager, and had no say in its financial affairs.
“In 2023, a verdict was issued against him in criminal court, he was jailed and later left the country.
“He stepped down from running the company, and the third defendant (24) was sent by the parent company to replace him. He follows up on debts and communicates with partners.”
The Jordanian added that the 24-year-old Brit had not been in Bahrain since 2023, but nonetheless remained responsible for the company’s financial affairs.
“After the CR was suspended, we are unable to access our bank accounts. We are also entitled to large sums of money from lawsuits we’ve won, but we cannot receive it since our accounts are frozen,” he claimed.
“We are asking for an opportunity to settle the debts. We have sufficient funds to pay them off.”
The trial has been adjourned to August 24 for defence statements.
zainab@gdnmedia.bh
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