Restaurant owner to pay $8.6M for defrauding Kuwaiti royal
February 5, 2020, 10:53 am

Restaurant owner to pay $8.6M for defrauding Kuwaiti royal

A Baltimore restaurant owner was found guilty of defrauding a Kuwaiti royal family member and was ordered to pay her more than $8 million. (File photo Reuters)

A Baltimore restaurant owner who developed a financial relationship with a Kuwaiti royal was found guilty of defrauding the woman and is now ordered to pay her more than $8 million.

Jean Agbodjogbe was convicted Friday of concealing and misrepresenting his business dealings with Alia Salem al-Sabah for his own gain, The Baltimore Sun reported. The verdict became available Tuesday.

Al-Sabah is a member of a wealthy royal family in Kuwait. Her father is the president of the National Guard, her husband is a former minister of the interior and her uncle served as head of state. She reported her self-worth at $24 million.

The royal visited the United States in June 2014 while one of her daughters was attending Johns Hopkins University. During that time, she stopped at Agbodjogbe’s halal restaurant, Nailah’s Kitchen.

Al-Sabah ordered $10,000 worth of food from the restaurant to feed worshipers at a neighborhood mosque as an act of charity for the holy month of Ramadan. The agreement sparked the beginning of a partnership between the restaurant owner and the royal even after she returned to Kuwait.

Over time, Agbodjogbe convinced Al-Sabah to wire him thousands of dollars at a time, first to expand his restaurant, then to revitalize Baltimore’s once-thriving Howard Street. Records show he bought several properties but also spent the money on personal expenses like sending his children to private school and buying a house for his family for over $400,000.

Agbodjogbe said during the trial that he considered the money as a gift that he could spend freely. Al-Sabah’s attorneys said she sent the money as an investment for the restaurant owner to buy and redevelop properties on her behalf. The attorneys also said Agbodjogbe inflated the cost of his business dealings to get more money from Al-Sabah.

“He fell into the money trap. It was a honey hole, and he fell in,” said James Sweeting III, an attorney representing Agbodjogbe told the jury.

Agbodjogbe was ordered to pay back Al-Sabah the $7.6 million she sent to him over several years. The jury also ordered him to pay $1 million in punitive damages.

“The jury delivered a clear and unmistakable message: The Defendants lied to Ms. Al-Sabah for their own financial gain. The jury found that her unfortunate reliance on Defendants’ web of deceptions and concealments was justified and reasonable,” Michael MacWilliams, an attorney for al-Sabah, wrote in an email.

source: The Associated Press

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BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the company’s headquarters in the Seef District.
During the meeting, shareholders approved all items listed on the agenda, including the ratification of the minutes of the previous AGM held on 26 March 2024. The session reviewed and approved the Board’s Annual Report on the company’s activities and financial performance for the fiscal year ended 31 December 2024, and the shareholders expressed their satisfaction with the company’s operational and financial results during the reporting period.
The meeting also reviewed the Independent External Auditor’s Report on the company’s consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2024. Subsequently, the shareholders approved the audited financial statements for the fiscal year. Based on the Board’s recommendation, the shareholders approved the distribution of a cash dividend equivalent to 10% of the paid-up share capital.
Furthermore, the shareholders endorsed the allocation of a total amount of BD 172,500 as remuneration to the members of the Board for the year ended 31 December 2024, subject to prior clearance by related authorities.
The extension of the current composition of the Board was approved, which includes ten members and one CBB observer, for a further six-month term, expiring in September 2025, pending no objection from the CBB.
The meeting reviewed and approved the Corporate Governance Report for 2024, which affirmed the company’s full compliance with the corporate governance directives issued by the CBB and other applicable regulatory frameworks. The AGM absolved the Board Members of liability for any of their actions during the year ending on 31st December 2024, in accordance with the Commercial Companies Law.
In alignment with regulatory requirements, the session approved the reappointment of Ernst & Young (EY) as the company’s External Auditors for the fiscal year 2025, covering both the parent company and its subsidiaries—Sinnad and Bahrain FinTech Bay. The Board was authorised to determine the external auditors’ professional fees, subject to approval from the CBB, and the meeting concluded with a discussion of any additional issues as per Article (207) of the Commercial Companies Law.
Speaking on the company’s performance, Mr. Mohamed Al Bastaki, Chairman BENEFIT , stated: “In terms of the financial results for 2024, I am pleased to say that the year gone by has also been proved to be a success in delivering tangible results. Growth rate for 2024 was 19 per cent. Revenue for the year was BD 17 M (US$ 45.3 Million) and net profit was 2 Million ($ 5.3 Million).

Mr. Al Bastaki also announced that the Board had formally adopted a new three-year strategic roadmap to commence in 2025. The strategy encompasses a phased international expansion, optimisation of internal operations, enhanced revenue diversification, long-term sustainability initiatives, and the advancement of innovation and digital transformation initiatives across all service lines.
“I extend my sincere appreciation to the CBB for its continued support of BENEFIT and its pivotal role in fostering a stable and progressive regulatory environment for the Kingdom’s banking and financial sector—an environment that has significantly reinforced Bahrain’s standing as a leading financial hub in the region,” said Mr. Al Bastaki. “I would also like to thank our partner banks and valued customers for their trust, and our shareholders for their ongoing encouragement. The achievements of 2024 set a strong precedent, and I am confident they will serve as a foundation for yet another successful and impactful year ahead.”
Chief Executive of BENEFIT; Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi commented, “The year 2024 represented another pivotal chapter in BENEFIT ’s evolution. We achieved substantial progress in advancing our digital strategy across multiple sectors, while reinforcing our long-term commitment to the development of Bahrain’s financial services and payments landscape. Throughout the year, we remained firmly aligned with our objective of delivering measurable value to our shareholders, strategic partners, and customers. At the same time, we continued to play an active role in enabling Bahrain’s digital economy by introducing innovative solutions and service enhancements that directly address market needs and future opportunities.”
Mr. AlJanahi affirmed that BENEFIT has successfully developed a robust and well-integrated payment network that connects individuals and businesses across Bahrain, accelerating the adoption of emerging technologies in the banking and financial services sector and reinforcing Bahrain’s position as a growing fintech hub, and added, “Our achievements of the past year reflect a long-term vision to establish a resilient electronic payment infrastructure that supports the Kingdom’s digital economy. Key developments in 2024 included the implementation of central authentication for open banking via BENEFIT Pay”
Mr. AlJanahi concluded by thanking the Board for its strategic direction, the company’s staff for their continued dedication, and the Central Bank of Bahrain, member banks, and shareholders for their valuable partnership and confidence in the company’s long-term vision.