Dubai salesman on trial for embezzling recharge cards worth Dh14.7 million

Dubai - Court documents show that the financial irregularities happened over the course of three years.

A telecom employee is standing trial at the Dubai Court of First Instance for embezzling Dh14.7 million worth of recharge cards.
Court documents show that the financial irregularities happened over the course of three years - from January 2015 to August 2018.
The 41-year-old Omani national, who was then a sales executive and in charge of the branch warehouse in Deira, embezzled the cards on different occasions. He would order large quantities of recharge cards, exceeding the need of the branch, and then misappropriating them.
He pocketed 244,295 cards, worth Dh14.7 million, which he handed over to his wife and her children from a previous marriage. He was charged with embezzling public funds in his capacity as a public employee. The incident was reported at Al Muraqqabat police station.
A legal consultant told the public prosecution investigator that the defendant was a sales executive and a warehouse keeper. "His duties included replacing damaged recharge cards, presented by customers, after obtaining required documents. For that end, he would order the necessary quantity of cards to meet the customers' demands."
The legal consultant recounted how the internal auditing section found out that between 2016 and 2017, the accused ordered a large number of cards on the pretext of replacing them with damaged ones submitted by customers. "A committee comprising staff from the human resources, legal section, auditing section, and an independent employee conducted an internal probe and investigated the defendant."
When the administration checked in their system, they found that the defendant ordered the cards in replacement of damaged ones but he did not cancel them (the damaged ones) from the system, as he should. "After receiving the damaged cards, the employee should ensure through the system that the (damaged) card was not used before he proceeds into cancelling it and approving the replacement. The cards unlawfully ordered were worth Dh14,759,475," the witness said during the prosecution investigation.
The trial will continue on February 20.
mary@khaleejtimes.com
 

• Dubai