Man accuses wife of stealing Dh5 million in Dubai

Dubai - The couple had problems after the woman showed interest in having a child.

A prominent Emirati businessman was sentenced to a year in prison after he issued his wife a Dh5 million cheque, then reported that it was stolen after the couple went through marital conflicts. The court later suspended the term.
According to prosecution records, the 75-year-old owner of a large business group reported two missing cheques to Al Murraqabat police station in November 2016 and stopped the bank from cashing the cheque amid his wife's visit to the bank.
He reported that the bank had called him about a woman, 38, who was trying to cash the Dh5 million cheque. He didn't mention, however, that the Syrian woman who worked as his public relations manager is his wife of eight years after both tied the knot in Jordan.
His lawyer had submitted a statement to the Dubai prosecution stating that the defendant had often left signed blank cheques due to the nature of his work and that the amount was fraudulently filled in.
The accused's lawyer, however, presented prosecutors with the marriage contract, and stated that the Emirati businessman gave his wife the cheque to buy a real estate unit abroad. The couple were having problems after the woman showed interest in having a child, which is something, the lawyer said, the businessman objected to.
"He had forgotten that one of the two cheques missing was actually issued for a company in Dubai Festival City and was already cashed in on March 2014. So he had reported two missing cheques," the woman's lawyer had told prosecutors as he submitted relevant documents.
He added that when the woman went to the bank, his account manager informed him about a cheque with Dh5 million being cashed, to which the Emirati man ordered him to keep her for three hours until he reports the incident.
"He didn't say the woman was his wife or even admit it to prosecutors," the wife's lawyer added.
The businessman was therefore accused of issuing a cheque with bad intent and stopping the bank from cashing it to his wife.
The businessman was sentenced to one year in prison at The Family Court, but the court later suspended the term. The wife is filing a civil case against her husband.
sherouk@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai