DUBAI// An investor who embezzled more than Dh8.4 million from the Dubai Economic Department (DED) by tampering with online transactions has been jailed for two years
In March last year, the 30-year-old Egyptian forged e-transactions after claiming to clients he could arrange discounts on issuing licences. He was aided by four other men, three Egyptians and one Syrian.
He denied charges of forgery and fraud while the other men denied aiding and abetting when they appeared at the Dubai Criminal Court in January.
Prosecutors said the investor accessed the DED’s e-system and carried out the transactions from a mall’s business centre.
“We discovered the issue when a client came to the registration section asking about discounts,” said a DED official, adding that the man insisted he received had a discount twice before and asked for the same again.
“We checked the system and discovered the defendant tampered with the fees and processed many forged transactions within the past two years,” said the official, who contacted the defendant’s manager and then the police.
In court, all five defendants denied the charges against them.
The investor was sentenced to two years and was fined Dh150,000 while the other four men were sentenced to a year in jail each and also fined Dh40,000.
They will all be deported after serving their prison terms.
(via The National)
