Duo siphons off Dh13.4m from boss

dubai — Two Dubai expatriates, both Kazakhs, are standing trial at the Court of First Instance after they allegedly siphoned off over Dh13.4 million from the bank accounts of their Russian boss.

The court heard how the two sales managers, a man, 43, and a 33-year-old woman, fraudulently withdrew Dh13.4 million from their employer’s bank account after tampering with papers and misusing a replacement SIM card of the victim’s mobile number that is linked with that account.

According to the public prosecution records, the real bank account holder was out of the UAE when the defendants applied for a replacement SIM card in his name. They forged two money transfer forms which they sent to the bank, impersonating the victim. They were charged with forgery, fraud, embezzlement, faking an entity seal and criminal complicity.

The complainant, a 51-yearold Russian company owner, said that both defendants used to work for him.

“They took advantage that I was out of the UAE from September 2 to 13, 2013, to withdraw large amounts of money from the accounts of my company. I was surprised back in my home country when I found that my mobile service was disconnected and I could not reach the two accused as their mobile phones were then switched off.”

He got suspicious when his staff told him that the two left the country.

“When I contacted my bank I was told that $3,660,000 was withdrawn from my bank accounts. The amounts were transferred to another account that I have no knowledge of. I was advised to come back at the earliest and file an objection to the bank, which I did through my lawyer,” he recounted to the prosecution investigator.He was also instructed to first file a complaint at the police station.

The complainant later came to know that the first accused got in touch with the bank after he managed to avail of a replacement SIM card on his mobile number (the complainant’s) and did the money transfer transactions in his name.

The defendants forged papers, including two money transfer forms which they stamped with the victim’s faked signature and his company’s seal.

They used the new SIM card for validation of those transfers to the bank.

The case dates back to September 2013 and a complaint was lodged at Al Rafaa police station. The trial continues on February 19.