Bahrain’s labour fund organisation - Tamkeen, in coordination with the Public Prosecution and other authorities, has uncovered cases of fraud involving its financial support programmes.

Upon investigation, it was found that around 10 Bahrainis committed labour fund fraud by submitting fake data and documents through Tamkeen and Social Insurance Organisation (SIO) platforms. These fraudulent activities resulted in the collection of more than BHD 230,000 in wage support funds.

The accused individuals forged several documents and data submitted online to obtain approval for the funds. “The defendants are accused of submitting forged documents and false data through electronic systems to benefit from Tamkeen’s support programmes. The support was disbursed based on information verified through electronic linkages between government entities, including the Social Insurance Organisation and the Ministry of Labour,” an official statement reported.

Upon investigation, led by the Head of the Financial Crimes and Money Laundering Prosecution, it was found that the accused business owners manipulated the online systems of both agencies and illegally obtained approvals for social insurance and wage support claims.

They made it appear that a number of employees had longer periods of employment, enabling them to wrongly collect pensions, end-of-service benefits, and lump-sum compensations. These fraudulent claims totaled more than BHD 90,000.

Additionally, they submitted fake documents to fraudulently secure BHD 140,000 in employee wage support.

Tamkeen and the SIO subsequently reported the suspicious activities to the authorities and affirmed that all cases involving fake employment, document forgery, or wage manipulation will be legally pursued.

Tamkeen has expressed its appreciation to all relevant authorities for their swift action in reporting these violations of Bahrain’s regulations. It also reaffirmed its commitment to enhancing oversight measures to protect public funds and prevent misuse of support programmes by ineligible recipients.

You may also like:

• MoHRE takes legal action on 22 recruitment offices for 37 violations: Here are the penalties
• UAE MoHRE sets up 10,000 AC rest stations for outdoor workers
• KSA HR Ministry announces mid-day work ban effective June 15
• 30% workers in UAE and KSA still prefer working alone despite rising WFO: Gensler Report

Earlier this year, an expatriate business owner also faced legal penalties for committing similar fraud involving Tamkeen wage support. 

The accused owner, who runs an advertising agency, was found to have defrauded over BHD 34,000. The Lower Criminal Court sentenced him to three years’ imprisonment and imposed a BHD 5,000 fine. He will also be deported after serving his sentence. 

Two of his associates were sentenced to two years in jail, along with BHD 5,000 in fines each.