Abu Dhabi: The Abu Dhabi Public Prosecution has referred two senior executives in an insurance company and an employee of an oil company to court for bribery.
The oil company employee is accused of soliciting and accepting bribes to the tune of Dh10,540,880 for overlooking his professional duties.
Two executives of an insurance company have also been referred to the financial court for offering bribes to the oil company employee. The accused are the executive director and the former director general of the insurance company’s branch office in Abu Dhabi.
A report received by the court from the oil company in Abu Dhabi stated that one of its employees, a Canadian, misused his position to solicit commission in the form of bank transfers from the two insurance company employees, both Jordanians.
The oil company employee demanded commissions in lieu of his approval for tenders presented by the insurance company for fire and accident claims.
The bribes were allegedly deposited in instalments into the oil company employee’s bank accounts within the UAE and abroad by the two Jordanian defendants.
“This amount is one per cent of the total deal between the oil company and the insurance company,” one of the attorneys in charge of the case, told Gulf News, on condition of anonymity.
The Canadian fled the country and the Public Prosecution has issued an order for his arrest.
“He faces between ten to 15 years in jail,” the attorney added.
An official at the Attorney General’s office issued a statement reassuring that the financial courts will fight corruption and crack down on anyone who attempts to misappropriate public or private funds.
He said that commissions taken for breaching job responsibilities amounted to a criminal act as per the Federal Penal Code. “This behaviour harms individual interests and the national economy,” he said.
