UAE | Crime
American investor found guilty of embezzlement gets 3 years jail
Verdict says accused breached Esca rules and misappropriated Dh7.5m
- By Bassam Za'za', Senior Reporter
- Published: 23:56 October 30, 2008
Dubai: An American investor, who was charged with violating rules of Emirates Securities and Commodities Authority (Esca) and misappropriating Dh26.4 million, will spend three years in jail.
The Dubai Court of Misdemeanours sentenced the 43-year-old American investor, who managed a stocks trading firm, to three years in jail after he was found guilty of embezzling Dh7.5 million from the investors' money.
Presiding Judge Rabie Labneh incriminated the accused with cheating the investors by transferring their money to his personal accounts instead of investing them in stocks. The judge said in the verdict sheet that the accused should have differentiated between the firm's accounts and his personal accounts.
The Dubai Public Prosecution earlier charged the American with breaching investors' trust when he managed a stocks trading firm and misappropriated Dh26.42 million. He was charged with violating Esca's rules by transferring investor's money which was deposited in the firm's accounts to his personal accounts and unlawfully used that money to buy properties.
According to the arraignment sheet, the investors had deposited their money with the firm to be traded on the stock market.
The firm's accountant testified in court that the accused asked him to transfer from the firms' money to his personal bank accounts in Dubai, Egypt, Morocco and the US during different occasions. Two of the victimised clients, K.H. and I.R., stated in court that the accused earlier admitted before them that the firm suffered some deficit after he used the firm's money to buy properties in the UAE and Morocco.
According to the verdict sheet, the accused confessed during the Public Prosecution questioning that he transferred Dh7.5 million from the firm's accounts to his personal account.
A court-assigned internal auditor reported that the accused transferred Dh15.8 million to his account and later he retransferred to the firm's accounts Dh8.3 million.
The accused pleaded not guilty before the Misdemeanour's Court. His lawyer defended that his client is innocent and that the Dubai Civil Court should look into the matter.
Presiding Judge Labneh confirmed in the verdict sheet that the accused breached Esca's rules and misappropriated Dh7.5 million. The accused was ordered to pay Dh50,000 in temporary compensation to claimants' in civil right and referred the civil lawsuit to the Dubai Civil Court.
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