WHILE scanning the pages of Al-Yaum Arabic daily, I came across a photograph of a “market player” with a big smile plastered on his face. I knew before reading the article that something bad had happened. I started reading the story and was shocked when I finished. It left me sick to my stomach.

Although I had nothing to do with this “investor,” I had learned from earlier reports that he had tricked countless people out of their hard-earned money. Several of his victims suffered mental breakdowns, cardiac attacks or even committed suicide. Others are buried in loans they will spend the rest of their lives paying back.

His victims had been living in the hope that one day justice would prevail and that their money, or least a portion of it, would be returned to them.

However, they were left disappointed when the court issued a verdict rendering a previous verdict, which would have seized and liquidated the man’s assets, null and void!

Thousands of men and women have lost faith in the Shariah courts and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, which has time and again turned a blind eye to cases of fraud. Many cases related to shares and real estate investments were referred to administrative courts and remained there for years as defendants simply refuse to appear in court.

I don’t have any objection against the verdicts rendered by these courts, but rather object to the procedures used in dealing with cases which allow fraudulent investors, for example, a chance to enjoy ill-gotten money for years and even get away with it in some cases.

It is said that the Minister of Commerce and Industry is a honest and righteous man. It is incumbent upon him, therefore, to stand by those who have been conned out of their hard-earned money. When are we going to see the day when administrative courts bring justice to people and pronounce verdicts in a timely fashion instead of waiting for years on end?

I hope that every judge and official in the ministry looks into and treats cases as if they were their own cases and money being spent on litigation. How would they feel if resolving their cases took such a long time? I believe the president of The Board of Grievances should demand that judges review such cases and pronounce verdicts within a month at most.