Residency official on trial in Dubai for taking bribe

Dubai - The 28-year-old sergeant is believed to have carried out the said transactions even though the applicants were not eligible to sponsor their families.

An Emirati sergeant with the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) allegedly took Dh540,000 in bribes for processing 349 family visas illegally, a Dubai court has heard.
The 28-year-old sergeant is believed to have carried out the said transactions even though the applicants were not eligible to sponsor their families. Some applications also lacked tenancy contracts that are required by law for processing family visas.
The officer, identified as H.A., is also accused of falsifying electronic data by abusing his post to access the directorate's electronic system and keying in wrong information.
H.A. has been charged in the Court of First Instance with soliciting and accepting bribes in his capacity as a public officer, forgery and use of forged documents.
An Indian public relations manager, M.S., has been charged with offering bribes to H.A. and aiding and abetting him in the crime. A residency officer said in the investigation that H.A. worked in an external branch. "H.A. and M.S. were arrested on June 11 in the parking lot of H.A.'s workplace. An amount of Dh4,200 was seized from H.A. while family visa applications, including the visas, were seized from M.S. I don't remember how many visas were found with M.S."
When confronted by the residency officers, H.A. kept quiet at first but then admitted that M.S. paid him that sum without specifying the reason for it.
M.S. admitted to the officers that he paid the seized amount for the visas H.A. issued for him.
Another officer of the GDRFA said H.A. was arrested after the department received a tip-off.
The hearing has been adjourned to December 8.
mary@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai