Dubai: Seven men have been accused of defrauding a bank and forging four cheques cumulatively worth Dh15.6 million that were supposed to be withdrawn from the armed forces’ account.

Two Tunisian men, a jobless 33-year-old and a 37-year-old sales manager, and five businessmen allegedly conspired against a local bank and forged the four cheques that were issued to four general trading companies in January.

The amounts written on the four forged cheques were Dh3.8 million, Dh4.7 million, Dh3.4 million and Dh3.7 million, records stated.

The five businessmen, who were believed to have conspired with the two Tunisians against the local bank, include two Bangladeshis, a German, a Tunisian and an Egyptian.

The 33-year-old unemployed man and his 37-year-old countryman allegedly forged the four cheques and issued them in the name of the general trading companies, according to records, that were represented by three of the five businessmen.

Prosecutors charged the jobless man and the sales manager of forging cheques and passing on the same to three of the five businessmen. The businessmen were to deposit the forged cheques in ATM machines and collect the value of those cheques (Dh15.6 million).

Prosecutors said the 33-year-old and 37-year-old suspects defrauded the bank of over Dh3 million (with a cheque issued in the name of one of the companies).

They were also accused of attempting to defraud the bank of Dh3.4 million using the same ploy but their attempt was foiled after the bank management discovered the forgery.

One of the two Bangladeshi businessmen, the Egyptian and the German were accused of abetment by conspiring with the Tunisian duo by agreeing to get the forged cheques issued in their companies’ names against a commission of 5-10 per cent of the cheque’s value.

The Tunisian businessman was charged with sheltering his countrymen at his residence and aiding them to evade justice.

The second Bangladeshi businessman was accused of failing to report the crime to the authorities.

The seven suspects pleaded not guilty and rejected the accusations against when they appeared before the Dubai Court of First Instance on Sunday.

The first two Tunisian suspects rejected the four charges made against them.

The third Tunisian suspect (the businessman) told presiding judge Fahd Al Shamsi: “I did not shelter them at my residence, actually I stayed at their place and not vice versa.”

The Egyptian suspect contended in courtroom seven: “I did not know that the cheques were forged; I had agreed with them to do business and was supposed to get a commission of Dh700,000 that was supposed to be transferred to my bank account. I was surprised when I found that Dh3.7 million had been deposited into my account. When I checked with them, I was told that the main partner … had mistakenly transferred Dh3.7 million.”

Three defence lawyers who were present in court pleaded for an adjournment to allow them to review the case file.

One of the bank’s managers testified to prosecutors that the first cheque was issued from the armed forces’ account in January.

“The Dh3.8 million worth cheque was deposited in an ATM to be withdrawn, it was issued in the name of a trading company. Some withdrawals were made from the account and, by the time the other cheques had been deposited, we discovered that the cheques had been all forged,” he told prosecutors.

A police lieutenant at Dubai Police’s Cybercrime Section testified to prosecutors that primary interrogations initially led to the arrest of one of the Bangladeshi suspects once the first forged cheque was discovered.

The rest of the suspects were arrested one at a time, he added.

The trial continues.