ArchivesTag : corruption
Money laundering charge Bahrainis to review verdict
Lawyers of two men at the centre of a multi-million-dinar fraud were yesterday given two months to review a new verdict which effectively axed part of Bahrain’s law on money laundering.
The two Bahraini defendants, each former Alba employees, are facing charges of money laundering, fraud and bribery.
Prosecutors claim the men accepted bribes from foreign firms [...]
Bahrain joins war on graft
The Shura Council yesterday backed Bahrain joining the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC).
Councillors, who passed the decision at their weekly meeting, said they hoped that it would be implemented so that Bahrain joins other countries across the world in combating corruption.
Changes
They demanded that the government utilises the convention to make changes to existing laws [...]
Aluminium Bahrain Sues Sojitz Claiming Workers Bribed
Aluminium Bahrain BSC accused Japanese trading company Sojitz Corp. and its U.S. unit of paying $14.8 million in bribes to two of the aluminum producer’s workers in a plot to buy metal at below-market prices, then resell it in the U.S.
Aluminium Bahrain, also known as Alba, made the claim in a lawsuit filed today in [...]
Former banker jailed for BD2m fraud
An appeal by a former banker, who was convicted of a nearly BD2 million fraud, was yesterday rejected by a Bahraini court.
The High Criminal Court had earlier sentenced the former Housing Bank general manager to 10 years in jail.
A former financial controller, a Briton, was also jailed for five years in connection with the case.
They [...]
Officials facing bribery charges
Six tourism officials are among 17 men who will appear before a Bahrain court in two months for their involvement in a major corruption scandal, it emerged yesterday.
The six Bahrainis, who work for the Culture and Information Ministry’s Tourism Directorate, are accused of accepting bribes from investors of hotels outlets to turn a blind eye [...]
Travails test Alba’s mettle
It has been a tough year for Alba. The 40-year-old Bahraini aluminium producer has endured a long corruption inquiry, a change of management, an extensive restructuring, job losses and whisperings of a possible privatisation.
Add to this the halving of aluminium prices in the past 12 months and the construction of at least four new smelters [...]
Cayman court freezes $9.2bn of Saad assets
A Cayman Islands court has frozen $9.2 billion of assets belonging to Saad Group, the Saudi Arabian investment firm at the centre of a financial storm, including some of its equity stakes outside the Gulf.
The ruling followed a complaint filed by Ahmad Hamad Algosaibi and Brothers Company (AHAB), which is locked in a legal tussle [...]
US sues Kuwaiti financier over takeover hoaxes
US securities regulators have sued a well-connected Kuwaiti financier whose investment firm is partly owned by Citigroup, saying he reaped millions in suspicious profits after “fraudulent” takeover reports sent shares of two US companies soaring.
The civil lawsuit against Hazem Khalid Al-Braikan is sure to send shockwaves through the Middle East investment community. Al-Braikan declined to [...]
$12m ’siphoned by executives’
TWO former Alba executives have been accused of siphoning $12.4 million (BD4.68m) from the company, it emerged yesterday.
The Bahrainis were exposed as a result of an unrelated US criminal investigation into claims that American aluminium giant Alcoa bribed officials in Bahrain, said sources.
The two allegedly pocketed the money over three years, starting in 1999, [...]
Minister cleared by MPs
Municipalities and Agriculture Affairs Minister Mansoor bin Rajab – who had been accused of financial, administrative and constitutional irregularities – was cleared by a parliamentary committee yesterday.
The minister appeared before parliament’s financial and economic affairs committee two weeks ago to face accusations of illegal business activities, as well as irregularities in the allocation of ministry [...]
We want our beach back say residents
Angry Demistan residents are staging a festival today, to highlight their fight for the return of their beach.Parts of the coast are owned by a VIP, who villages say has also “stolen” part of the sea and walled it off, blocking residents’ access.
Another VIP has sold the other part to private investors, who are planning [...]
Feds open Alcoa bribery probe
Federal prosecutors have launched an investigation into allegations that Alcoa Inc. and affiliates bribed officials in the Persian Gulf country of Bahrain to secure hundreds of millions of dollars in overpayments.
The U.S. Justice Department asked a judge to halt a federal civil lawsuit against the Pittsburgh-based company that accused Alcoa of bribing the officials through [...]
US Justice probes Alcoa Bahrain bribe allegations
The US Justice Department has launched a criminal investigation into allegations that aluminum giant Alcoa paid bribes to officials in Bahrain, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday.
Late last month, Aluminum Bahrain BSC, a Bahrain government-controlled company, filed civil suit in a federal court in Alcoa’s home town of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, alleging that for 15 years [...]
Finances Clamp
A new law will force ministers, top government officials, MPs, Shura and municipal councillors to declare their personal finances. An independent commission of judges will have sweeping powers to investigate their finances, including those of their spouses and children.
Those who fail to comply, or found guilty of financial crime, will face heavy fines and/or jail [...]
Clean Hands
Bahrain has moved fast to polish up an image somewhat tarnished by a recent report suggesting corruption was on the rise in the kingdom.
The latest study on the rates of perceptions of corruption in countries around the globe conducted by Transparency International (TI) said the levels in Bahrain have significantly worsened over the past year. [...]
