JEDDAH: The administrative bench at the Court of Grievances in Jeddah has summoned the Ministry of Commerce and Industry following a citizen’s complaint that it failed to execute an order issued in his favor by the Bureau of Commercial Dispute Settlement in a case relating to a SR13 million-check that bounced.
Khaled Al-Adhyani approached the Court of Grievances when he noticed that despite the ruling the ministry failed to take steps to retrieve money from a local businessman who gave him the bad check.
The bureau issued an order months ago that the check’s drawer be sent to jail for one year and made to pay a SR50,000 fine. It also ordered the ministry to seize and auction the businessman’s assets to raise funds for Al-Adhyani.
The ministry, however, ordered the businessman’s release after five months in jail, according to Al-Adhyani. He said the ministry failed to implement the bureau’s order to seize the businessman’s assets, but instead lifted restrictions imposed on them.
“Having become convinced of the genuineness of my complaint, the Court of Grievances issued a summons to the ministry to appear before the court by the end of the next month. Although the ministry acknowledged the amount the defendant owed me, it refused to take the responsibility to making the fraudster return my money,” said Al-Adhyani.
“On the other hand, it released the culprit seven months before completing his term and refused to auction his assets, saying it was not responsible,” he said.
Al-Adhyani said he now fears the businessman might transfer the assets to his relatives to escape payment. He urged the court to hold the ministry responsible if he fails to get the money back.
Naif Al-Shareef, professor of commercial law at King Abdulaziz University, said the ministry’s attitude would set a bad precedence in commercial transactions, something that would lead to a loss of people’s confidence. He also demanded strict punishment for people who allow their checks to bounce.
