Banker stands trial for embezzling Dh306k from customer's account

Dubai - The case was registered at Bur Dubai police station.

A banker has been charged at a Dubai court for allegedly embezzling Dh306,000 from the account of a customer.
The Court of First Instance heard how the 35-year-old Emirati employee forged 25 cash withdrawal forms in the name of the customer and faked his signature.
The withdrawals happened on several occasions starting from May 2017 up to January 2018. The employee was exposed on January 15, last year. He is accused of abuse of post, embezzlement, forgery and use of forged documents.
The case was registered at Bur Dubai police station.
The head of tellers at the bank said that he and the defendant worked at the same bank. "The accused approached me on January 15, 2018, with an application form, which he had just filled in, to withdraw Dh30,000 from the victim's account. When the amount is Dh30,000 and more, my approval is necessary and an original Emirates ID card should be presented. The accused told me the customer is at the bank's special customer service section."
However, the head of tellers did not find the customer at the section. "I was surprised as he would always come to me, in person, for any transaction. The defendant then claimed to me that the customer had just collected the amount and left," the witness recounted.
As the witness felt doubtful with the defendant's claims, he informed the deputy manager. "We checked the branch's surveillance cameras which captured the accused putting the amount in his pocket. The customer did not appear to have visited the bank on that day at all."
The bank administration then conducted an internal probe and looked through the victim's account. "Many withdrawals were done on his account, which were worth Dh30,000 and below. The victim would not come to the bank very often and he would not usually withdraw small amounts," the witness told the prosecutor.
When he confronted the accused with their findings, the latter admitted to the embezzlement charge, expressing his willingness to return the amounts to the victim's account.
The trial has been adjourned to March 11.
mary@khaleejtimes.com

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