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Emigration consultant held
for forging salary certificate

DUBAI — A businessman who runs an emigration service office was on trial on Thursday in the Court of First Instance on the charge of forgery and use of forged documents.

The 38-year-old Pakistani man allegedly forged a salary certificate and said it was issued by the Dubai Port World.

According to the prosecution records, the defendant changed the salary in a customer’s certificate from Dh6,000 to Dh12,000 and the profession from driver to supervisor.

He then gave it to the customer who in turn presented it to the British Consulate in Dubai. The customer, a 45-year-old Pakistani driver with DP World, wanted to get a UK visa for his son and sought the service of the defendant. The son of the worker, aged 25, wanted to study in the UK.

The discrepancy came to light when an official from the British Embassy contacted DP World to confirm certain data pertaining to the visa applicant.

A 21-year-old Emirati assistant told the prosecutor that in March last year he had had a phone conversation with a woman working for the British embassy.

“After checking through our system, I had to rectify her information about a truck driver — the visa applicant’s father — who works with us. I told her that he was not a supervisor and that he earns only Dh6,000,” the assistant said in the investigation.

The assistant then requested the Consulate official to send the driver’s application. He then found that it carried false information with regard to profession and salary and a forged signature. “The paper sent by the embassy also totally differed from the papers issued by us,” the assistant said.

When called, the driver alleged that after receiving the salary certificate from his workplace he submitted it to the immigration service office, and at that time the salary had been correct.

The defendant has a criminal record and was involved in a similar case earlier and was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment and deportation.

mary@khaleejtimes.com

• UAE