Dubai: An executive manager denied in court on Sunday the charge of offering a Dh500,000 bribe to a Nakheel official to cancel Dh3.7 million in accumulated fines over three plots of land.

Prosecutors charged the 32-year-old Iranian manager, W.M., of offering the bribe to the official to abuse his duty and cancel the outstanding fines that accumulated over three plots of land in the Jumeirah Village Project.

Records said the Nakheel official cooperated with the authorities and pretended to accept the bribe offer before police busted the defendant red-handed during a sting operation on June 10.

“No I did not offer a bribe...,” argued the manager who entered a not guilty plea before the Dubai Court of First Instance.

He contended that he met the public official in order to discuss his company’s papers.

The official testified during prosecution questioning that a meeting was held between executives from Nakheel’s fine collection department and a team from the suspect’s company to discuss the accumulated fines.

“One of the suspect’s coworkers asked our team to cancel the accumulated fines. Our department’s head refused and replied that Nakheel would lodge a lawsuit. A few days later the defendant phoned up and asked to meet me to discuss the issue outside the office. I refused and asked him to come to my office. When we met in one of Nakheel’s meeting rooms, W.M. offered to pay me Dh200,000 to scrap the fines.

“I claimed to him that his offer was against the law but I said that I would consider his request. Immediately I reported the matter to Nakheel’s legal department and police were also informed. I was asked to pretend to have agreed to accept W.M.’s offer but I was also asked to bargain with him to increase the offer to Dh500,000,” claimed the official.

Prosecution records said the defendant met up with the official in the lobby of a hotel and handed him a bag of money. A police team raided the place and arrested the suspect as part of a sting operation. Police seized Dh400,000 in bribe money.

Records said prosecutors have provided the court with voice recordings between the plaintiff and the suspect to be used as evidence against W.M. during the trial.

Presiding judge Maher Salama Al Mahdi adjourned the case to hear prosecution witnesses on December 18.