A VERDICT date has been set in the case of an expatriate who allegedly used stolen bank cards to purchase a luxury car in Bahrain.
The 36-year-old Egyptian banking investor from Seef is standing trial at the High Criminal Court, where he is facing charges relating to fraud and unauthorised use of other people’s money.
Prosecutors allege that he attempted to acquire the vehicle and pay for it in instalments over several days using the dealership’s electronic payment platform.
His plan was thwarted when suspicious transactions were flagged and reported by an employee at a credit card company.
According to court documents, the expatriate went to a car dealership in Sitra and expressed his intention to purchase a vehicle worth BD25,000. He insisted on paying online using the dealership’s electronic payment platform.
The defendant was given a special link and login details to access the platform, and he used it to pay for the vehicle using stolen bank cards over the course of several days – with the first few payments made on August 7, 8, 12 and 13 this year.
He eventually managed to pay more than BD14,000 over 18 transactions using the cards, without the permission of their original owners.
However, a female employee from Credimax discovered suspicious transactions worth more than BD12,000, where money was being deposited from multiple accounts, including foreign ones, into the same electronic platform owned by the car dealership.
She traced all transactions to a single source, which turned out to be the Egyptian defendant, and contacted the car dealership to question them about the sale.
She informed them that the money was being withheld due to suspicions of fraudulent activity, and following appeals from the actual owners of the cards.
The Credimax employee explained to the dealership that there were a number of transactions from international cards issued in Australia, Chile, Hong Kong, Ecuador and Singapore.
Credimax contacted several banks that issued the cards, and only one of them responded, confirming that the card used was stolen and belonged to someone else.
A report was then sent to the General Directorate of Anti-Corruption and Economic and Electronic Security, which launched an investigation leading to the identification and arrest of the suspect.
The defendant allegedly entered Bahrain under the title of an investor, and intended to purchase luxury goods using stolen cards by taking advantage of the kingdom’s online payment platforms.
An inspection of his phone revealed WhatsApp conversations and photographs of bank cards belonging to individuals he allegedly stole from.
The Public Prosecution referred him for trial at the High Criminal Court, where judges are expected to deliver a verdict on January 31.
nader@gdnmedia.bh
&uuid=(email))