Businessman Mr. Yaqoob Al Awadhi emphasized the current predicament faced by Bahrain’s private sector, encompassing companies, institutions, and real estate owners, as a result of certain foreigners departing the country without meeting their financial obligations. Recognizing the gravity of the situation, he underscored the significance of implementing comprehensive legal and digital measures to effectively tackle this issue.
Mr. Al-Awadhi highlighted the recent announcement made by the Capital Municipality Council regarding the outstanding municipal fees and rents owed by departed foreigners, which amounted to BD 4.1 million across the four governorates. Among this total, the Capital Governorate alone accounted for approximately BD 2.5 million. He noted that this substantial amount of outstanding debt poses a major burden on public financial resources.
“In my opinion, the overall debt owed to business owners and the private sector by foreigners surpasses the mentioned figure. This is primarily because of the significant scale of the real estate rental sector targeted towards foreigners, where many of them fail to fulfill their rent obligations. Additionally, numerous financial contracts and supplies provided to foreign companies and individuals go unpaid when they either declare bankruptcy or deliberately evade their responsibilities upon leaving Bahrain.” According to Mr. Al Awadhi.
“This situation prompts us to advocate for the enhancement and expeditious advancement of measures pertaining to holding non-compliant foreigners accountable for their outstanding debts. It necessitates the swift issuance of restraining orders to prevent their departure and establishing an interconnected digital system encompassing the judiciary, law enforcement agencies, and border crossings,”
Mr. Al Awadhi added that this approach not only serves the interests of creditors among businessmen, institutions, and companies but also contributes to regulating financial transactions with transparency, reducing the burden of police and judicial reviews, and bolstering trust in the overall business environment in Bahrain.
