Abu Dhabi court orders ex-employee to pay Dh42,000 for embezzling company funds

The Abu Dhabi Civil Family Court has ordered ex- employee to pay her former employer Dh42,000 in compensation after she was found guilty of embezzling Dh36,900 from company funds entrusted to her under a power of attorney, Emarat Al Youm reported.

The court said the element of fault had been conclusively established against the defendant and that her misconduct had directly caused financial damage to the plaintiff company.

According to case documents, the company filed a civil lawsuit demanding Dh130,000 in compensation for material, moral and emotional damages, in addition to the amount misappropriated, legal interest, fees and costs.

The plaintiff stated that the defendant had worked for the company and embezzled a total of Dh86,000, for which she had already been convicted in a separate criminal case. The judgment had become final after being upheld on appeal. The defendant did not appear in the civil proceedings despite being properly notified.

In its reasoning, the court explained that the company had previously lodged a criminal complaint accusing the employee of embezzling Dh86,200 belonging to a one-person limited liability company, funds that had been placed under her control as an agent. The criminal court convicted her of the offence, and the verdict was confirmed by the Court of Appeal.

Because of the finality of that ruling, the civil court said it was bound by the criminal judgment on the question of fault, noting that it could not reconsider liability. The court therefore accepted that wrongdoing had been proven beyond doubt and that the employee’s conduct had resulted in demonstrable harm to her employer.

Compensation adjusted to Dh42,000

The plaintiff had requested Dh130,000 to cover material and moral damages, but the court found that the proven amount embezzled was Dh36,900, as confirmed by the appellate judgment and an expert report submitted by the plaintiff.

It ruled that the company had suffered material losses from being deprived of access to the funds but said the claim for moral damages was inadmissible because the plaintiff was a legal entity, not a natural person.

The court therefore ordered the defendant to pay Dh42,000 in total compensation, covering both the embezzled sum and associated losses, and rejected the remainder of the claims. The employee was also ordered to bear court fees and expenses.