Expat flees after embezzling Dh1.3M
dubai — A British man has been charged in absentia in the Court of First Instance after he allegedly embezzled Dh1.3 million using a forged business licence copy.
Court documents show the runaway fled the country right after he received the money.
He was a manager at a business service and facilities firm and had a deal with a compatriot to take care of the issuance of a business licence of a company in Abu Dhabi but could dupe him to send him over Dh1.3 million in several installments. He forged a business licence copy which he falsely claimed was issued from the Department of Economic Development in Abu Dhabi.
The case unfolded between December 10, 2014 and January 28, 2016, and a complaint was registered at the Jebel Ali police station.
Prosecutors accused him of forgery and use of forged official document, embezzlement and breach of trust.
“In December of 2013, I had an agreement with the defendant that
We checked the authenticity of the licence copy at the DED in the Capital and found it fake.” Complainant
he would finish the business licence cancellation procedure pertaining to a human resources consultancy company in Dubai and start a new firm in Abu Dhabi under the same name in addition to cancelling my residence visa. For that purpose, I wired several amounts of money to him,” said the 47-year-old plaintiff, who is on a visit visa.
In his deposition at the public prosecution, he said on December 10, 2014, he transferred Dh31,630. On May 8, 2015, he sent Dh146,000. On June 1, 2015, he transferred Dh1.2 million.
“However, after all those payments, the defendant did not respect the agreement and did not finish the business licence issuance procedure for the human resources consultancy firm in Abu Dhabi.
“He sent a copy of a licence issued from Abu Dhabi valid from January 24, 2016, to January 23, 2017, by e-mail. We checked the authenticity of that licence copy at the DED in the Capital and found it was fake,” the complainant told the prosecutor.
An Indian legal consultant, 30, gave a similar testimony to the prosecution investigators.
During initial interrogation at the prosecution, the defendant admitted he received Dh178,000 from the complainant to cancel the papers of his Dubai-based company, cancel his visa (the complainant’s) and establish a new firm in Abu Dhabi.
He also confessed he had sent an e-mail informing the complainant about the procedure his business services company had carried out to get the business licence issued, but claimed it did not contain a counterfeit business licence copy.
A bank letter confirmed Dh1.2 million had been transferred.
A letter from the DED in Abu Dhabi said the copy, subject of the case, was counterfeit. The forged licence copy has been deposited at the public prosecution headquarters. The court is set to issue a ruling on January 29.