bahrainthismonth.com | NOVEMBER 2026 OPINION 117 My principle is straightforward: if a personal benefit is offered because of your professional position, decline it, declare it and record it. Legitimate discounts or additional services negotiated for the building should benefit the owners’ association, not individuals. When the Contractor Suddenly Changes Why was a long-standing maintenance contractor replaced? Was performance inadequate? Was the new quotation more competitive? Were alternative bids obtained and the decision documented? Or did somebody simply announce a replacement? There may be perfectly legitimate reasons. But supplier selection can also be influenced by concealed commissions, personal relationships and improper inducements. Neither price nor familiarity guarantees competence. Supplier choices must be independently evaluated and commercially justified. If nobody can explain why a supplier was appointed, somebody should be asking. Follow the Money and the Paperwork Consider a hypothetical tower containing 100 apartments, each contributing BD1,000 annually in service charges. That is BD100,000 every year, or half a million dinars over five years. Who scrutinises that expenditure? Where are the approved budgets? Are the accounts independently audited? Do the bank balances reconcile with the accounting records? Are invoices supported by job cards, authorisations and satisfactory completion reports? Was the work necessary, reasonably priced, inspected and actually completed? What about the reserve fund? Money set aside for major future repairs should not quietly fund ordinary operating expenditure without proper authority and transparent accounting. A building can appear healthy until major equipment fails and reserves prove inadequate. Reports containing outdated figures, inconsistent dates or unexplained balances should invite questions, not automatic acceptance. A spreadsheet can look impressive and still tell you remarkably little about the truth. The Conflict Nobody Declared Every owners’ association should insist upon conflict-of-interest declarations and clear procurement controls. Board members, property managers, accountants and others involved in expenditure should declare relevant personal, financial or business relationships. They should confirm that they have accepted no undisclosed commissions, gifts, holidays, hospitality, rebates or free private services, whether in cash or in kind. Offers should be recorded, including those declined. Significant contracts need appropriate quotations and approvals; completed work should be independently verified before payment. Nobody should have unchecked authority to select a supplier, approve expenditure, certify completion and arrange payment. Declarations cannot stop dishonesty, but they do establish standards and accountability. Fraud prevention is not about distrusting everybody. It is about creating systems in which nobody needs to be trusted blindly. Fraud Does Not Always Start as Fraud Many compromised commercial relationships begin legitimately. A contractor performs well. Familiarity develops. Then comes a personal favour. Perhaps nobody initially sees anything wrong. But when personal benefit influences professional judgement, an ordinary relationship can become a vehicle for corruption. Not every discrepancy is fraud. Poor administration, conflicts of interest and dishonesty differ. Establishing wrongdoing requires evidence, not speculation. Nevertheless, misconduct flourishes when nobody examines documents or challenges unexplained decisions. Where Are the Owners? Annual general meetings (AGMs) are announced. Few attend. Financial statements are circulated. Few read them. Budgets are presented. Few question them. Board positions become available. Few volunteer. Then, years later, when charges rise, facilities deteriorate, reserves disappear or liabilities emerge, everyone wants to know what happened. Where were you when the decisions were being made? Ownership does not end at your apartment door. Attend the AGM. Examine the accounts. Question expenditure. Ask about reserves, contractor appointments and payment approvals. Support responsible board members and demand transparent reporting. Bahrain regulates owners’ associations, but regulation cannot replace engaged owners. Your Building. Your Money. Your Responsibility. Next time you receive a service-charge statement, don’t simply pay it and forget it. Ask where the money goes, who approves expenditure and whether the work was necessary and completed. Ask whether those spending your money can demonstrate that they receive no undisclosed personal benefits from suppliers. The greatest protection against fraud is not another impressive report, management contract or reassuring promise. It is effective oversight, transparent accounting, independent verification and owners who refuse to look the other way. The standard you walk past is the standard you accept. And when it comes to other people’s money, looking the other way can become very expensive indeed.
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