Man in UAE forges documents, tricks bank into paying Dh882,000

Abu Dhabi: A federal court has convicted a man who submitted forged documents to a UAE bank, including a falsified salary certificate and a high-value housing lease approval, prompting the bank to settle more than Dh882,000 of his debts with two other financial institutions.

According to court records, the defendant applied for a debt-purchase facility and attached a “To Whom It May Concern” letter claiming a monthly salary of more than Dh50,000, along with an annual housing lease approval worth Dh190,000. Both documents were presented as issued by a government entity and appeared authentic, bearing official-looking signatures and stamps.

The investigations revealed he had also falsified the debt-purchase application itself, inflating his income to over Dh56,000 and signing with a forged signature, despite knowing his actual earnings were far lower, Emarat Al Youm reported.

Relying on the forged papers, the bank proceeded with normal procedures and paid off his outstanding liabilities, only later discovering that the entire file was based on false information.

The defendant denied all charges in court, claiming the documents were genuine and that he had not intended to gain unlawful benefit. However, the public prosecution presented evidence including testimonies from bank staff, an official letter confirming the documents had no origin within the government entity, chat correspondences and the defendant’s statements during investigation.

The court ruled that the forged documents played a decisive and misleading role in convincing the bank to settle the debts, confirming the defendant knowingly used falsified papers to fraudulently obtain funds.

The court upheld a three-month jail sentence and a fine of Dh882,500, while suspending the prison term for three years. The court found the suspension appropriate given the circumstances and rejected the Prosecution’s request for a tougher penalty.