Defendants and 11 others involved in stealing realty investor's money from three corporate accounts
Dubai: Two senior managers of a multinational bank have been sentenced to seven years in jail each for stealing Dh25 million deposited by an investor in three corporate accounts.
The managers, a Lebanese woman, S.E., and an American man, A.I., in collaboration with a Pakistani driver, H.K., allegedly used forged documents to steal the Iranian investor's money between October 2012 and March 2013.
The managers pleaded not guilty before the Dubai Court of First Instance on Tuesday, but their arguments failed to convince the court.
The driver, who remains at large, was also handed a seven-year jail term in absentia.
Ten other suspects -- seven Indians, two Pakistanis and a Lebanese -- were charged with aiding and abetting the crime.
Presiding judge Mohammad Jamal sentenced two of the 10 suspects to seven years in jail while the remaining eight were jailed for six months each. Six of the eight defendants were sentenced in absentia.
In the charge-sheet, prosecutors said the female manager was in charge of servicing the Iranian's three corporate accounts. She provided the other two accused with the account details and funds in them so they could forge documents to transfer the victim's money to a separate account.
Prosecutors said the three accused drew up a fictitious agreement between the Iranian and another business entity (the holder of the account to which the money was transferred) so they could steal the Dh25 million on different occasions.
"The defendants will be deported following the completion of their jail terms. The civil lawsuits [filed by the investor and the bank] were referred to the Dubai Civil Court," the judge observed.
The investor, who has been working in the real estate industry since 2011, testified to prosecutors that the incident happened after he established five companies and registered them in the UAE.
"I opened four corporate bank accounts for my companies in Dubai and deposited around Dh36.5 million. The bank commissioned S.E. to manage my accounts. In March 2013, my companies' administrative manager went to the bank and requested bank statements to submit to the Dubai International Financial Centre... the woman defendant provided her with a brief statement. But DIFC's management requested a detailed statement. Thereafter I accompanied my administrative manager and then we discovered the Dh25 million deficit," he said.
Records said the Iranian investor complained to the police whose thorough interrogations revealed the involvement of the 13 accused.
The primary rulings against six defendants remain subject to appeal within 15 days.
The seven defendants sentenced in absentia are entitled to a retrial once they surrender.
© Gulf News 2015
