Dubai: Three businessmen have been accused of offering Dh250,000 in bribe to a Dubai Municipality inspector to obtain a no-objection-letter to park trucks at Ras Al Khor’s Fruit and Vegetable Market.
A 42-year-old Indian businessman and company manager, K.K., was said to have mediated between his two fellow businessmen, a 38-year-old Indian, S.M., and a 63-year-old Iranian, M.A., and the Emirati inspector to obtain the no-objection-letter from Dubai Municipality for allotment of additional parking slots for trucks in September.
Prosecutors accused S.M. and M.A. of offering Dh100,000 and Dh150,000 in bribe, consecutively, to the inspector to persuade him to grant them permission to park more than the allowed number of trucks.
K.K. was charged with mediating between S.M. and M.A. and the inspector.
The inspector reported the matter to the police, according to records, before the trio were arrested in a sting operation one at time.
The defendants entered a not guilty plea and denied the bribery accusations when they showed up before the Dubai Court of First Instance on Sunday.
According to the charge sheet, S.M. offered Dh100,000 to obtain permission to use four parking lots. M.A. requested permission to use 10 parking lots.
The inspector testified to prosecutors that K.K. visited him at the Fruit and Vegetable Market and offered to pay him money through different shop owners to obtain no-objection letters for extra parking lots.
“He claimed that he would pay me money for every single parking lot. I pretended that I had agreed and accompanied him to the allocated places for which he wanted to obtain the letters. We visited several shops that traded in fruits and vegetables. He also claimed to me that one of the shops was willing to pay Dh500,000. Thereafter, I asked him to fill in the required transactions and papers and hand them over to me… then I immediately reported the matter the police. I informed my supervisor at work. After we communicated with the police, my supervisor signed the abovementioned transactions as part of the agreement to carry out the sting operation. I met K.K. in a shopping centre in Al Twar. After I collected the alleged bribe money from K.K., I signalled to the police who raided the place and arrested him,” the inspector claimed.
Presiding judge Fahd Al Shamsi will hear prosecution witnesses when the court reconvenes on January 28.
