Man accused of defrauding overseas partner of Dh23m in Dubai

Dubai - The friends jointly opened a construction company in Dubai in 2003.

A businessman exploited his friendship with his partner to embezzle Dh23 million, according to the records of a dispute being handled by the Dubai Ruler's Court.
The friends jointly opened a construction company in Dubai in 2003 and the defendant told his partner - who was outside the country- that the company was suffering heavy losses.
Hashim Salem Al Qaiwani, director of expertise and dispute resolution committee at The Dubai Ruler's court, told an Arabic daily that the defendant sold the assets and subsidiaries of the company when questions were asked by his friend about the losses.
The plaintiff claimed that he had transferred huge sums to his own account in Dubai over several years for the company.
The company - on which the plaintiff invested 80 per cent of the capital - expanded its projects as a result of the plaintiff's relations and reputation.
After the defendant claimed continuously that the company is suffering huge losses, the plaintiff decided to send auditors to know the losses in the company. However, the defendant refused to cooperate with them. When he allowed them to work, he presented them with conflicting statements about the accounts of the firm. The auditors' report suggested there was huge misappropriation in the accounts, without specifying the amounts. When his partner inquired about the company's accounts and details, the defendant quickly sold the assets, taking advantage of the powers granted to him by his partner. He also changed his residence and phone numbers.
Several months after his disappearance, the plaintiff was forced to file a case accusing his partner of cheating and misappropriation.
Al Qaiwani pointed out that the defendant insisted that the auditors' report, on which his partner based his complaint, was inaccurate and that the accusation is invalid. Following this, the case was transferred to the Department of Expertise and Dispute Resolution at the Dubai Ruler's Court.
He added that the experts started analysing the details of the case, the period in which it began and studying the relationship between the two partners according to the contracts signed by them. The administration faced several challenges, including the absence of any trace of the accounting system used by the company during its work, as the accused had sold the company's assets and digital devices, which contained the original accounting system. He also declined to submit documents that were requested by the experts, in addition to filing incomplete and conflicting documents.
Al Qaiwani explained that the committee asked the parties to submit documents that support their point of view. The accused presented contradictory documents, which did not contain real data. After analysing the financial statements and using the resulting figures in the comparisons and the study of the financial indicators and their trends, it was found that the results do not fit the accounting and financial logic, especially those related to expenses and revenues resulting from the executed projects. It also showed that the accused was hiding important documents.
Al Qaiwani added that it was also found that there were several bank accounts through which a large number of suppliers and creditors were paid. The experts panel asked the defendant to provide a list of suppliers and all creditors. However, the defendant delayed it and then presented incomplete papers. It was found that there were amounts transferred from one of the bank accounts of the company to a private bank account which had no effect on the accounts of suppliers.
"Later, it was found that it was a personal account of the defendant. By reviewing the statements of the previous period, it was also found that the accused had transferred more than Dh13 million to a joint account he had with his wife. The expert panel also discovered that money was spent on personal matters, and that the defendant withdrew money from the company bank account without any justification. He also made several cash transfers to unknown people, said Al Qaiwani.
amira@khaleejtimes.com