Probe Sought Over Fines Paid to Personal Account

TDT | Manama

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Boat owners at Muharraq Port were allegedly told to pay government fines into a personal account on a money transfer app, raising questions over who received the money and how it reached state accounts.

Muharraq Municipal Council chairman AbdulAziz Al Naar, called for an inquiry and questioned the legal or financial basis for the General Directorate of Marine Resources at the Supreme Council for Environment to collect fines through a personal account.

He called on the Ministry of Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture to investigate the payments and explain how the money was recorded and transferred into government accounts.

‘Government fines should be paid through official payment channels and under government financial rules,’ Mr Al Naar said.

He said each payment should be fully recorded, showing who received the money, how much was paid and where it went.

‘This is not a minor breach or a routine administrative matter,’ he said. ‘It concerns the handling of public money and needs an explanation.’

Mr Al Naar called on Marine Resources to explain what legal basis allowed boat owners to be asked to pay fines into a personal account on a money transfer app.

He also asked who was responsible for receiving the money, recording it and transferring it into state accounts.

The payment dispute comes amid a long-running argument over the running of Muharraq Port.

Mr Al Naar said several boat owners had been fined despite using the port for over 20 years and waiting for a formal registration system for their vessels.

Registration was opened to only a limited number of owners before being closed to the rest, he said.

That left some with nowhere else to keep their boats.

Mr Al Naar said providing somewhere for the boats to be kept was Marine Resources’ responsibility and owners should not be fined when no alternative had been provided.

He had raised problems at Muharraq Port at an earlier council meeting, including poorly kept boats, vessels left in the wrong places and unclear records of boats and their owners.

He also raised the case of land leased by Marine Resources to an investor years ago.

The plot remains fenced off and unused, he said, despite a shortage of space and services at the port.

Mr Al Naar said the land could be used to help organise the port and give boat owners somewhere to keep their vessels.

He called for fair enforcement, clear registration rules and all fines to be paid through official government channels.

‘Enforcing the law does not mean ignoring people’s rights,’ he said.