Flaifel managed to flee Bahrain on May 3, 2002, despite being wanted for involvement in fraud. He fled to
Brisbane, Australia where he purchased 50 million Australian dollars' worth of prime
Brisbane central business district buildings. It would later turn out that he was being sought after by Interpol on fraud and embezzlement charges, following a request from the Bahrain Government on May 20, 2002. Two individuals, Omar Ali Babtain, the president and chief executive officer of the United Medical Group, which equips and manages hospitals throughout the world, and Khalid Bin Nasser Bin Abdulla Al Misnad, president of the Misnad Group, an international trading and construction company, lodged a challenge against Flaifel with the Supreme Court in Brisbane challenging his ownership of the Australian properties. The pair claimed Flaifel had sold them properties in the Middle East worth 59.5 million Australian dollars, but never transferred the contracts, and used that money to purchase the Australian properties. When it became apparent that Flaifel was in Australia,
Lord Avebury, the vice-chairman of Britain's Parliamentary Human Rights Group, said he would call on Australia to try Flaifel for his alleged torture of Bahraini political activists. Following the fraud and embezzlement case in Australian courts, Flaifel's assets were frozen internationally and he was not allowed to leave Australia. These counts later proved to be false under specific special investigations held by the General Directorate for State Security Investigations and the Bahrain Intelligence Agency (BIA1). ==2010 Election campaign==