Ministry staff jailed for taking Dh4m in bribes

dubai —Two former Ministry of Labour employees, accused of accepting Dh 4 million worth of bribes over the course of six years in exchange for unlawfully processing transactions, were sentenced to 3 years in jail by the Court of First Instance.

The two ex-MoL employees, a Jordanian and an Indian, were accused of dealing with two Indians in the wrongdoings that involved around 20,927 transactions.

The two men, who are both in their 30s and who used to work at the IT section, would collect Dh 200 for each application. Another employee, a Lebanese, also accused of seeking bribes, was found not guilty.

The two Indians who offered the bribes were also sentenced to the same period — 3 years in jail — on the charge of bribing for unlawful favours.

The court ordered all the four men to pay jointly Dh4 million in fines and return the same to MoL. They will all be deported after completing their jail time.

The discrepancies date back to January 2009, up to June 2014, in which the former employees helped the other accomplices gain illegal access to the electronic system and consequently processing transactions illegally.

The four men were convicted of forgery and use of forged e-documents and aiding and abetting in the forgery crime, in addition to making illegal profits totaling more than Dh 650,000.

The court ruling remains subject to be appealed.