Bahraini businessman accused of fraud in car sale, leaving foreigner high and dry

TDT | Manama     

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

A Bahraini businessman has been charged with defrauding a foreign national by taking possession of his car for sale without paying the agreed-upon price, prompting the victim to file a complaint.

As per the case details, the victim’s wife, also a foreign national, owed a debt to another individual. To settle the debt, her husband entrusted her with his car to sell. She then handed the car over to her daughter to handle the sale process.

The daughter subsequently contacted the accused, a 50-year-old Bahraini businessman, and agreed to sell him the car.

Following the agreement, both parties signed the necessary paperwork to transfer ownership. However, after taking possession of the vehicle, the accused failed to pay the agreed-upon sum and evaded further contact with the victims.

Ownership

Upon checking the car’s registration status with the General Directorate of Traffic, the victim’s daughter discovered that the accused had transferred ownership of the vehicle to another person – his ex-wife. This prompted the victims to file a lawsuit against him. When questioned about the car, the accused’s ex-wife stated that she had not received the vehicle from him and denied signing the ownership transfer documents.

The General Directorate of Traffic employee who processed the transfer confirmed that the accused had approached him in 2018 to change the car’s ownership.

Procedures

He verified the information on the transfer forms and completed the process according to standard procedures, registering the car under the accused’s ex-wife’s name as the buyer, as per the accused’s request.

Further investigation, including a report from a forgery expert, confirmed that the accused’s ex-wife did not sign the buyer’s section of the documents. The handwriting and signature belonged to the accused himself.

The court has scheduled a hearing for May 27th, 2023, to consider the case.