Dubai: Dubai Police Chief Lieutenant General Dahi Khalfan Tamim has called on anyone who has embezzled government funds to return the money at the earliest.
He warned that Dubai authorities would not spare anyone who illegally benefited from the government's money.
The statement follows the State Audit Institution (SAI), the UAE's top federal auditor, which oversees the spending of billions of dollars of public funds, launching a set of guidelines on Tuesday to ensure transparency, accountability and better use of public money.
"The manual is part of an integral strategy to develop a corporate governance framework to support the basic objectives and principles of the general strategic plan of the federal government," an SAI spokesman said.
The federal government's move comes two years after a far-reaching crackdown on corruption in the real estate sector that booked some key officials in property development companies.
Abdul Rahman Al Saleh, director-general of the Department of Finance in Dubai, told Gulf News: "The manual would be useful for the public sector as a tool for better monitoring mechanism and stricter regulatory measures to define responsibilities".
A deterrent
He said the guidelines were to deter those who may misuse government money.
Dr Hareb Saeed Al Amimi, president of SAI, said: "Government institutions are responsible for managing public money, and hold a national responsibility in protecting allocated money and making sure of proper use [of funds]".
The manual outlines the role of internal audits in detecting and reporting fraud, protecting employees who report suspicious activity, and in disciplinary procedures.
Al Amimi said it was the first manual to activate corporate governance in government entities, to ensure proper use of public money and fight corruption.
"The fraud control framework is an important preventive procedure and is part of an integral process to fight financial corruption to achieve strategic objectives related to different aspects of development in the UAE," Al Amimi said.
