Couple cleared of forging bank documents and fraud charges

abu dhabi — A couple, who was accused of attempting bank fraud after allegedly forging bank documents, has been cleared of the charges because of lack of evidence.

Court records stated that the Abu Dhabi-based bank alleged that the wife, who is their former employee, had forged documents including a bank statement, showing that her husband’s company had an account in the bank.

The bank authorities also said the husband had attempted to use the forged documents to fraudulently take money from the bank. The couple, however, denied the accusations, stressing that they had never been involved in any forgery or trying to unlawfully take money from the bank.

The wife had earlier won a labour lawsuit against the bank for unlawfully sacking her from the job and the court ordered the bank to pay her Dh188,000 in compensation.

Rabia Abdel Rahman, the couple’s lawyer, argued in the court that the bank had maliciously filed complaints against her clients to evade paying the compensation. She said the woman was a loyal and honest worker who had diligently served the company for more than nine years and went through many promotions because of her hard work.

The lawyer said there was no substantial evidence to prove that her clients forged the said documents or used them in any way to obtain money from the bank.

She noted that the statements presented by the bank were inconsistent and could not be used to convict a person of forgery or attempted fraud. After hearing from both the parties, the judge decided to acquit the couple of the charges because the evidence presented by the bank was insufficient.—