Ex-CEO Loses Civil Case against Bahrain's Bank Alkhair

Ex-CEO Loses Civil Case against Bahrain's Bank Alkhair

The former chief executive and founder of Bahrain's Bank Alkhair has lost a civil court claim in the kingdom which sought to strike down his dismissal by the bank, the latest round of a legal battle between the two parties

May 1, 2012 3:19 by kippreport

The former chief executive and founder of Bahrain’s Bank Alkhair has lost a civil court claim in the kingdom which sought to strike down his dismissal by the bank, the latest round of a legal battle between the two parties. A judge at Bahrain’s Supreme Fifth Civil Court on Monday dismissed the case brought by a firm owned by Majid Al-Refai, as well as three associates, which aimed at nullifying an October 2010 decision by the bank’s general assembly to remove him from the board, Bank Alkhair said in a statement. Al-Refai left the Islamic bank, at the time named Unicorn Investment Bank, in August 2010 and a subsequent investigation conducted by consultancy Deloitte alleged he had committed 58 criminal offences, including misappropriating bank funds. A spokesperson for Al-Refai was unavailable for comment.

The judgement is the latest development in a series of legal cases following Al-Refai’s departure from the bank.

In March, Bahrain’s Chamber for Dispute Resolution dismissed a compensation claim for 1 million dinar ($2.65 million) by Al-Refai in relation to his departure from the bank.

Bank Alkhair also said in September, when details of the Deloitte probe were published, it had filed two civil cases against Al-Refai and two other former employees to retrieve misappropriated funds, although it did not provide details on how much money was involved.

(Reporting by David French)