Bank manager in Dubai fakes signature, embezzles Dh10 million

Dubai - The accused abused his post to embezzle the huge amount.

A man who used to work as a manager at a renowned bank in Dubai was sentenced to five years in prison in absentia on Monday.
The Saudi national was charged with breach of trust and embezzlement, which he will pay back as a Dh10 million fine.
His accomplice, a 31-year-old Chinese saleswoman (former employee at the bank), was given a six-month jail term followed by deportation.
The case unfolded between October 2016 and July 2017 and was registered at Al Muraqqabat police station.
The accused had contacted an Emirati businessman and told him that the bank is willing to grant him loan facilities worth Dh10 million and made him sign an account opening form.
However, the bank administration found out later that the defendant abused his post to embezzle the huge loan amount.
He cited his number instead of the customer's on the form application and forged a mortgage contract pertaining to a plot of land owned by the businessman in Abu Dhabi.
The contract stated that if the mortgagee failed to pay up the loan instalment, the bank would have the right to take the necessary legal procedure to recover its money.
Public prosecution records show that the manager faked the businessman's signature on the mortgage contract.
The bank administration came to learn, during an internal probe, the former manager managed to obtain an approval on the loan application after he stamped it with a seal falsely attributed to the bank and a forged confirmation with a false signature of a property department director.
Accordingly, the bank administration approved transactions run by the defendant while in his post as the manager of account of special customers.
Monday's ruling may be appealed.
mary@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai