E-Paper
Sign In
A failed business deal isn’t automatically a crime, says Dubai court
Court of Appeal upholds acquittal of a businessman accused of criminal breach of trust, ruling that unsettled business accounts don’t amount to criminal breach of trust
- PUBLISHED: Tue 4 Aug 2026, 10:51 AM UPDATED: Wed 5 Aug 2026, 10:16 AM
The Dubai Court of Appeal has upheld the acquittal of a businessman accused of criminal breach of trust, in a case that began with a failed used-car spare-parts venture, reaffirming that not every business dispute is a criminal matter.
The case began when two parties jointly invested in a spare-parts business. When the relationship soured, one partner accused the other of unlawfully holding onto funds that had been entrusted to him under a power of attorney, and criminal proceedings for breach of trust followed.
Recommended For You
To assess the claim, the court reviewed witness statements, contracts, company records and an independent expert’s report. What emerged was not a clear-cut case of theft, but a tangled business partnership involving investments, shared management, and disputed accounts.
Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels.
The court-appointed expert found nothing in the financial or company records to suggest dishonest misappropriation or unlawful conversion of funds. Instead, the records showed two partners with intertwined finances – contributions, withdrawals, profits, expenses and mutual obligations – that had simply never been reconciled. Crucially, the partners had never drawn up a final statement of accounts to determine who actually owed what.
Without that reconciliation, the expert said, there was no way to tell whether the disputed money was misappropriated for personal use, an unpaid entitlement, an unresolved expense, or simply part of normal profit-sharing. And with no solid evidence that funds had been deliberately siphoned off, the case failed to meet the legal bar for criminal breach of trust – which requires proof of dishonest intent, fraudulent conversion and wilful misappropriation.
The court concluded this was a commercial accounting dispute, not a crime – one that belongs in the civil courts, where accounts can be reconciled and entitlements properly assessed.
The ruling is a reminder to entrepreneurs and investors, especially in the automotive trade, that failed deals and accounting rows shouldn’t automatically end up as criminal complaints.
Vishal Tinani, the legal advisor, said breach of trust requires more than simply holding onto money.
“The evidence must show the property was specifically entrusted to the accused under a recognised arrangement, that it was dishonestly misused, and that criminal intent existed at the time,” he said. “When partners share investment, profits and management duties, you can’t assume fraud just because a venture failed or the final numbers are in dispute,” he added.
Tinani stressed that the ruling reinforces a basic legal principle: criminal law isn’t a shortcut for settling business accounts that should be resolved through civil courts.
