Bahrain: 21 Asian Men Punished With Jail Time for Forming Criminal Network
The High Criminal Court sentenced 21 Asians to imprisonment ranging from one to five years. The culprits are said to have formed a criminal network for electronically defrauding people, seizing sums exceeding BD21,000.
The first to eighth defendants were sentenced to five years in prison and a fine of BD5,000, while the ninth and tenth defendants were sentenced to three years. The eleventh to twenty-first defendants were sentenced to one year; the seventh to ninth, eleventh to fifteenth and eighteenth defendants were fined BD100 for possession of pornographic material.
The court ruled in favour of their deportation after the execution of the penalty. The Chief of Cybercrime Prosecution stated earlier that Public Prosecution had completed its investigations into the incidents of electronic fraud committed by several defendants of Asian nationalities who formed a criminal network that specialised in seizing money by obtaining bank account details through fraudulent means. They were able to seize amounts exceeding BD21,000.
The Anti-Cybercrime Department of the General Directorate of Anti-Corruption and Economic and Electronic Security received several reports of victims who were scammed by suspects impersonating bank employees on the phone and claiming that their bank details need to be updated, or that they had won cash prizes and they needed to disclose their bank details to collect them. The Public Prosecution Office promptly initiated an investigation, taking victim testimonies as well as the statement of an official from one of the financial institutions through which the money transfers took place.
Public Prosecution issued a decision to local banks to trace the seized amounts until the 18 perpetrators were tracked and arrested. They were interrogated and held in custody pending investigation, after which they were charged with the felony of using others’ electronic signatures for fraudulent purposes. The prosecution also ordered the arrest of the remaining fugitive suspects. After completing investigations and collecting evidence, the defendants were referred to the competent court.
