Trial of 3 Employees Accused of

The Fifth High Criminal Appeals Court has scheduled the next hearing for August to continue reviewing the case.

The First High Criminal Court had sentenced the first defendant to 10 years in prison, fined him BD 75,204.345, and ordered him to return the same amount to the school. The second defendant was sentenced to three years in prison, fined BD 10,897.550, and ordered to return the same amount, while the third defendant received a one-year jail sentence, a BD 790 fine, and an order to return the same amount.

The case originated from a report submitted by the Ministry of Education regarding administrative and financial violations at a government school. The Public Prosecution launched investigations, questioned the head of the administrative investigation committee and a technical specialist from the ministry, and ordered the disclosure of the defendants’ bank accounts, tracking of deposited funds, freezing of assets, and placing the defendants on travel ban lists.

Investigations by the Anti-Corruption Crimes Department revealed that the first and third defendants were responsible for the school’s financial transactions with merchants. The first defendant was found to have obtained cheques issued by the school in his own name, despite regulations requiring cheques to be issued in the names of the commercial entities dealing with the school.

Financial investigation reports revealed cash withdrawals, purchases, transfers, and transactions between the defendants and other beneficiaries. The funds were also used for personal purposes unrelated to school activities, including payments to women’s salons, cafés, cinemas, car dealerships, insurance companies, restaurants, clinics, fuel stations, and other personal expenses.

Investigations showed that the defendants received more than 200 cheques issued by the school, deposited the value of some into their bank accounts, withdrew others in cash, and used the funds for purposes unrelated to the school.

During questioning, the first defendant admitted forging documents and cheques and depositing their value into his bank accounts. He stated that the offence began in 2019 and continued until it was discovered in 2024. He admitted preparing forged payment documents, obtaining blank signed cheques, filling them with incorrect information, and attaching them to fabricated transactions.

The second defendant admitted assisting the first defendant in obtaining blank cheque signatures, preparing cheques in his own name and the first defendant’s name, benefiting from their value, and using school funds for personal purchases.

The third defendant admitted receiving cheques issued in his name, with the first defendant withdrawing the money using his bank card and handing it over to him. He also stated that he obtained blank signatures from the school principal at the request of the first defendant without presenting supporting documents or transaction records.