Arson at bakery brings to light Dh18.2m fraud

Manager accused of forging government stamps, falsifying bank papers to embezzle cash

Legal and Court Correspondent

Amanager from a wellknown bakery has been accused of forging government department stamps and falsifying bank papers and receipts to embezzle Dh18.2 million, a court heard on Sunday.

The renowned bakery’s German owner and general manager was said to have suspected financial irregularities before he ordered his finance department to carry out an internal audit in 2017.

Once the bakery’s financial auditor carried out the internal audit, the owner was notified about several discrepancies between the ledgers and the bank accounts, said records.

Upon the general manager’s directives, the bakery’s financial auditor accompanied the Syrian manager, 50, to the administrative offices to check the financial records, which did not show any discrepancy.

Deliberate fire

The manager was also believed to have shown all the financial records, receipts and transactions to the auditor to claim that there were no discrepancies in the ledgers.

In November 2017, a massive fire broke out in the bakery’s administrative offices and most severely in the manager’s office before crime scene investigators discovered that it was a deliberate fire.

Police interrogations in the arson case revealed that the manager was the one who started the fire and he was arrested.

Prosecutors accused the Syrian manager of arson and referred him to the Dubai Court of First Instance that jailed him for one year. The primary judgement in the arson case was later increased by the Appeal Court to three years in jail.

In March, the Cassation Court upheld the three-year imprisonment against the Syrian defendant.

The renowned bakery’s German owner and general manager was said to have suspected financial irregularities before he ordered an audit.

Forgeries

Following the arson, the bakery’s financial auditor discovered a number of forged receipts, transactions and government papers before the German owner hired a private auditing firm to carry out an internal audit.

Prosecutors accused the suspect of forging government stamps, e-transactions and bank papers and using those falsified papers to embezzle the money.