Three executives of a drilling company have been found guilty of evading BD52,000 in value-added tax (VAT), despite the defence claiming that a settlement had already been reached with the National Bureau of Revenue (NBR).
The defendants, two British co-owners and a Jordanian general manager, were each sentenced to three years in prison by the High Criminal Court for failing to pay the taxes within the legally mandated period.
The 68-year-old Briton was fined BD3,636 and ordered to pay a further BD3,637 in VAT, representing the amount for which he was held responsible.
The 24-year-old Briton and the 35-year-old Jordanian were each fined BD48,971 and jointly ordered to pay a further BD48,971 in outstanding VAT.
The company itself, which was tried as an ‘artificial person’, was fined BD315,046, six times the amount initially owed.
The four were accused of not paying 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.
Since both British nationals were not in Bahrain to testify in the case, the Jordanian was the only defendant to give his account to the prosecution.
In his testimony, he claimed that he was not involved in the financial administration of the business, had no access to its bank accounts and held no financial authority other than being a signatory. He said the 68-year-old British business owner, who founded the company, had been convicted of embezzlement and fraud three years earlier and sentenced to five years in prison.
He added that the parent company had put a new administration in place to settle the firm’s outstanding dues to banks, the government and other companies, and that BD50,000 had so far been paid to creditors.
The Jordanian claimed that a criminal complaint was nevertheless referred to the Public Prosecution despite the company’s compliance and co-operation with the NBR.
On the Sijilat commercial registration portal, the firm was described as a branch of a foreign company, with the two younger defendants appointed as authorised signatories after the founder was ousted.
“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 the fiscal side of things.
“In 2023, a verdict was issued against him by the criminal court. He was jailed and then left the country.
“He stepped down from running the company, and the third defendant, 24, was sent by the parent company to take his place. He follows up on debts and communicates with partners.”
The Jordanian added that the 24-year-old Briton had not been in Bahrain since 2023, but was nevertheless responsible for the firm’s financial affairs.
During hearings, he told judges that BD10,000 of the amount owed had been paid to the NBR in June and that the company had sufficient funds to pay the balance but was unable to do so because its bank accounts had been frozen.
zainab@gdnmedia.bh
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