Businessman denies signing dud cheques

Suspect allegedly gave Dh208m guarantee cheques in capacity as middleman in oil deal

Alawyer defended in court that his client signed Dh208 million worth of guarantee cheques when he mediated an oil deal between a petroleum company and a trader who breached the UN sanctions against Iran.

The Asian businessman denied the accusation of signing two bounced cheques worth Dh208 million to the UAEbased oil and energy trading company while entering an innocent plea before the Dubai Misdemeanours Court.

Prosecutors charged the defendant with issuing the bounced cheques without having sufficient funds in July-August 2014.

‘Well-known businessman’

“My client is a very well known and clean-handed businessman. He signed the guarantee cheques in his capacity as a middleman between the trading company and the petroleum company in Pakistan. The two companies had signed an agreement to complete an oil deal. The trader provided the bank with forged documents, in which it was purported the oil was from the UAE and it was … actually it was obtained from Iran. The trader breached the UN-imposed sanctions on Iran and got the oil from there,” argued the suspect’s lawyer Ayman Abdul Rahim Merdas in courtroom nine.

The lawyer defended before presiding judge Wajdi Al Menyawi that his client was innocent and he had signed the cheques as a guarantee and to ensure the oil deal would be completed.

“My client’s company in Dubai is permitted to broker such business deals and commercial agreements. The trader was supposed to sell 60,000 tonnes of oil to the petroleum company upon certain conditions that were listed in the agreement. The claimant testified before prosecutors my client gave him the cheques as guarantee and that he was not responsible for providing him with the sufficient funds. My client honoured his part of the agreement. The trader has dragged my client into this case. The agreement clearly stated the oil should be provided from a sanction-free country, but the claimant is the party that dishonoured the agreement. This matter is subject to a pending legal action [arbitration] in London between the buyer and the seller,” argued lawyer Merdas.

The trading company’s lawyer [claimant in civil right] told the court the matter is still subject to legal action and his client obtained the oil from an Iran-based refinery that is not listed amongst the sanctioned suppliers.

A ruling will be heard next month.