Dubai: A defendant said ‘No' 149 times, when he denied in court his charges of defrauding five banks using 86 credit cards, the total limit of which reached about Dh2.5 million.

"No… I didn't do it. Not guilty. It didn't happen. That's untrue. Impossible," said the 34-year-old Tunisian suspect, S.T., repeatedly after each of the 149 charges which were levelled against him at the Dubai Court of First Instance.

Prosecutors accused S.T. of abusing his former job as a data entry operator at the Dubai Department of Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities, forging 31 labour cards, seven salary certificates and a number of passports in different names.

He allegedly produced the forged documents at five banks to obtain 86 credit cards, the limit of which varied between Dh20,000 and Dh40,000.

Prosecutors accused him of forging signatures on tens of guarantee cheques, worth nearly Dh1 million, to persuade the banks to issue him the credit cards.

"I didn't forge a single document… none of the banks presented any corroborated evidence against me," the defendant told Presiding Judge Fahmi Mounir in courtroom four.

The crimes were allegedly committed between March 2005 and May 2009.

An Emirati police officer testified to prosecutors that the 86 credit cards were seized in S.T.'s house along with money transfer receipts, forged passports and labour cards [bearing names of bogus Syrian, Iraqi, Tunisian and Algerian individuals] and salary transfer certificates.

According to the charge sheet, the suspect was charged with swindling, embezzling public money, forging official and unofficial documents and using them. He was also charged with using the department's stamp on the forged salary certificates.

The police officer claimed in his prosecution statement: "Preliminary interrogations revealed that the former data entry operator had been involved in the forgery… we raided his flat in Sharjah and seized many forged documents and credit cards and pin numbers as well."

Prosecution records said the Tunisian was arrested in a sting operation.

"When I questioned him, S.T. claimed that he transferred between Dh150,000 and Dh200,000 to his parents. He alleged that the limit for each of the 86 credit cards varied between Dh20,000 and Dh40,000… he also confessed that he paid a monthly 5 per cent minimum limit so that the banks would not freeze the cards," the officer said.

Prosecution records claim the suspect defrauded Barclays, Dubai Bank, First Gulf Bank, HSBC, Emirates Bank and two other companies.

Presiding Judge Mounir adjourned the case until May 9 for the suspect to hire a lawyer.

Prosecution records quoted the defendant, who is in custody, admitting he illegally obtained Dh150,000 from First Gulf Bank and Dh55,000 from HSBC.

The trial continues.