Staff accused of fraudulent car sales

DUBAI // A salesman and two drivers for a car showroom forged documents to illegally sell vehicles worth almost Dh2.8 million before fleeing overseas, Dubai Criminal Court was told yesterday.

Prosecutors said Sri Lankans K M, 36, a sales manager, and drivers P P, 42 and M H, 49, forged contracts, registration letters, shipment documents and insurance forms for Audi, BMW, Mercedes and Nissan cars. They then sent WhatsApp messages to the company’s clients claiming the showroom was closing down and that the cars were being offered at discount prices. Once the vehicles were sold, they left the country.

“On May 22 last year my partner informed me that there were no cars in the showroom and that vehicles worth more than Dh2.7 million were gone,” said A T, 43 a Kazakh and a partner in the showroom.

He said he called the defendants several times but none of them picked up their phones, so he contacted the police. When police checked surveillance cameras they saw the three men arriving and driving the cars out of the showroom.

Prosecutors said one client had bought 10 cars for Dh980,000 when their real value was Dh2 million. The cars were later seized by police. The defendants are being prosecuted in their absence on charges of forgery, use of forged documents, illegally obtaining documents and with embezzling 13 vehicles.