British businessman Jonathan Nash faces 37 years in prison for bounced cheques

If someone was given a 37 years prison sentence in Europe or the UK you’d expect them to be a violent criminal. This is not the case in Qatar as horrified British businessman Jonathan Nash has discovered.. He has been given essentially life imprisonment for nothing more than bounced cheques.

Jonathan Nash, is CEO of Top House in Qatar, he has 27 years of experience in the electronic security systems industry. Top House offers technical, commercial and management services to the local construction industry. As CEO of a company, it is normal practice to write cheques in advance, as assurance of payment in the future. The cheques signed by Jonathan assured millions of Qatari riyals to clients and suppliers. When the company blocked payment, Jonathan found himself personally liable and facing the rest of his life in prison.

His desperate family are publicising his plight in the hope that compassion and sensibility will overturn this cruel and unusual sentence.

Jonathan believes he is the victim of an internal power struggle at his company, Top House. And that he has been used as fall-guy for the covert liquidation of the company’s assets.

While he is held in jail, business partner David Bolger and their Qatari company sponsor, His Excellency Sheikh Saoud Thamer M. J. Al-Thani, are divvying up Jonathan’s stake in the business.

Nash says that a campaign of lies and rumours damaged his business reputation to such an extent that many of his suppliers and clients lost confidence in him and decided to hastily cash cheques Jonathan had written on behalf of the company, in a rush to get their money. But because of an internal disagreement at Top House, the funds were not available from their business accounts to cover the cheques. Now Jonathan is being held responsible.

Despite Jonathan having just completed negotiations with Mashreq bank for five million Qatari riyals which was to be available to cover any debts from 3 days after his arrest, the police have refused to listen to his explanations and plans to cover the cheques.