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Kathmandu, Aug 22: Seven Nepalis have been serving jail terms in Bahrain on charges of banking fraud and forgery. They were arrested about a year ago and accused of taking large loans from banks without repayment.

According to the Nepali Embassy in Bahrain, the detainees claim that a Pakistani national misused their bank cards to withdraw loans. “When we met them in prison, they said their cards were used to take loans but they never received the money,” an embassy official said.

In Bahrain, workers with a CPR card, an identity document similar to a citizenship or national ID, are eligible to access bank loans. The embassy reported that loans worth 30,000 to 40,000 Bahraini dinars each (about 10 to 15 million Nepali rupees) were withdrawn using the Nepalis’ cards. The detainees insist they never received the money, but banks presented documents and CCTV footage showing their signatures, leaving them implicated.

The Bahraini court has treated the case as a serious offense, sentencing some to up to three years in prison along with fines, according to the embassy. Officials added that such banking fraud cases are highly sensitive, especially as Nepal is under monitoring by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

The arrested Nepalis are from districts including Kanchanpur and Jhapa. Their families in Nepal have appealed to the government, claiming they were framed, but the police in Nepal said the issue is outside their jurisdiction. Families remain trapped in debt and distress while their relatives face prison abroad.

The embassy has formally requested details from the Bahraini government through its foreign ministry. Once official information arrives, Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be briefed. The embassy clarified that it cannot obtain updates directly from police, only through diplomatic channels.

Bahrain treats bank fraud as a grave crime, and officials there believe the case against the Nepalis is serious. The embassy has acknowledged the situation and said efforts are ongoing, though the chance of immediate release is low.

Many Nepalis travel abroad with loans of 200,000 to 400,000 rupees, dreaming of reaching Europe or the United States. For some, those dreams end in foreign prisons. Families are left carrying the burden of debt and worry.

According to embassy records, more than 1,000 Nepalis are currently imprisoned in foreign countries. Saudi Arabia holds 544, the UAE 300, Malaysia 250, Qatar 64, Kuwait 50, and Oman 25.

People’s News Monitoring Service