Restaurant worker jailed over stolen card EWA bills

TDT | Manama

Email : editor@newsofbahrain.com

A worker at an Asian restaurant will serve a jail term of several years, pay a BD1,000 fine and be permanently deported after the High Criminal Court of Appeal upheld his conviction for electronic fraud linked to stolen bank cards used to pay Electricity and Water Authority bills worth BD2,453.

The court confirmed a lower ruling that found the 40-yearold used bank cards issued by banks outside Bahrain to complete the payments, after the cards were reported stolen.

The Public Prosecution said he used another person’s electronic signature, referring to the verification code tied to the victims’ cards, for a fraudulent purpose.

Money

It said he unlawfully took money linked to a payment company that acted as the intermediary in the transaction, after entering the verification data and obtaining the first victim’s card details.

The prosecution also said he accessed the information-technology system of a victim’s bank account without legal basis to carry out transfer operations.

The case came to light after a payment company reported suspected fraud during a settlement for EWA accounts.

Payments

The firm said bills had been paid using bank cards issued in an Asian country, totalling BD2,453, and that the payments were made using the card PIN