Banker ined Dhs52m for bilking client
A bank branch manager who swindled a client’s Dhs26 million was jailed for ive years and ordered to pay Dhs52 million by the Dubai Criminal Court on Thursday
The Arab manager, 31, used deceptive methods and counterfeit documents to swindle the money from the account of an Emirati client, 54, according to records at the Rashidiyah Police Station.
An Arab administrative oficer, 29, accused of seven counts related to abetting the manager’s crimes was cleared of facilitating the Dhs26m scam, forging four chequebook applications and using them.
The court jailed the oficer for three years over the other four counts. It sen- tenced the manager to ive years in jail and ordered him to return the money he swindled and pay an equivalent ine.
Presiding Judge Urfan Omar Atiyya ordered the coniscation of Dhs5,738,000 that both men had laundered. He also ordered a civil lawsuit iled against the duo be referred to the Dubai Civil Court.
The manager abused his iduciary duties at the branch in Nad Al Hamar to replace the client’s phone number and address and make cash transfers worth Dhs1,938,000 from the client’s account to the oficer’s.
He also forged 46 cash orders, four chequebooks applications, a cheque worth Dhs3.8m and 21 more cheques all worth Dhs3.818m. The incidents happened between Nov.2, 2010 and Jul.9, 2014.
The oficer helped him launder the Dhs5.738m (part of the swindled Dhs26m). The oficer later transferred Dhs55,000 from his account to the manager’s, prosecutors explained to the jury.
A Sudanese legal consultant said the manager changed the client’s phone number and postal address. “This blocked the client from receiving bank statements and messages regarding transactions.
“He applied for and received chequebooks using applications attributed to the client. He made four transfers to the oficer’s account worth Dhs1.938m and issued a Dhs3.8m cheque in favour of the oficer.
“Since the manager had been tasked with overseeing the account of a deceased’s man’s heirs, he also made a Dhs11m money transfer from the client’s account to the account of one of the heirs.
“He submitted 46 cheques attributed to the client, all worth Dhs8.512m that he encashed on separate occasions. In 2010 the oficer made two transfers worth Dhs55,000 to the manager’s account.”
Regarding the replacement contact number, he used that of an Emirati trader, 60. The trader said, “I don’t know the defendants and I don’t know who included my number in the victim’s personal data.”
As for the postal address, he used that of a pesticides company that did not even have an account in that bank. Its Indian manager, 46, said, “We usually received parcels bearing the victim’s name.” The ruling is subject to appeal within 15 days.