Dubai: A former passport control officer at Dubai’s General Department of Residency and Foreigners’ Affairs (GDRFA) has been accused of accepting Dh227,600 in bribes to forge e-transactions of departure fees of 569 people.

The 24-year-old Emirati officer was said to have accepted the bribe from a 28-year-old Emirati policeman, who was also accused of offering bribe.

The Public Funds Prosecution accused the two defendants, of abusing their public jobs [formerly] and dealing in bribe to forge electronic transactions of departure fees of 569 people between November 2011 and July 2012.

The defendants failed to show up before the Dubai Court of First Instance where they were scheduled to be prosecuted on Thursday.

Presiding judge Ali Attiyah Saad adjourned the case until the suspects are legally notified about the next hearing on June 24.

According to the accusation sheet, prosecutors said the GDRFA ex-officer abused his work as a passport control officer at Dubai International Airport’s arrivals terminal and forged e-transactions of departure fees. He accepted bribe from the policeman.

Records said the officer used his authority to access GDRFA’s e-system and forge the transactions by showing in the system that the departure fees were collected despite the fact that the concerned people hadn’t left the country.

An Emirati GDRFA official testified that an informant alerted them that the 24-year-old officer tampered with details on the departure fee transactions on the e-system. He collected bribes up to the tune of Dh400 per person.

“The informant claimed that the defendant manipulated the e-system and entered details that the departure fees of Asians had been paid without them having to leave the country. The Asians had entered the country via tourist visas that were mainly sponsored by tourism agencies. Dnata records confirmed that the 569 individuals concerned hadn’t left the country. Upon confrontation, the suspect admitted that he collected Dh400 in bribe from the policeman against each person,” the GDRFA official claimed to prosecutors.

Prosecution records cited the policeman suspect also admitted he used to text the individual’s visa number by SMS to the other suspect’s mobile number to have the departure fees paid. He also admitted that he used to get the names of the individuals from a friend.