Abu Dhabi court orders former employee to return Dh23,586 wrongly transferred

Abu Dhabi: The Abu Dhabi Civil Family Court has ordered a man to repay Dh23,586 to a former employer after the sum was mistakenly transferred into his account two years after he left his job, Emarat Al Youm reported.

The ex-employee had declined to return the funds, and the court found his explanations inadequate.

The employer filed a suit, demanding the principal sum, legal interest, court costs, and attorney’s fees. He explained he had transferred the money to the defendant’s account in error, but the defendant denied involvement and sought dismissal of the claim.

During proceedings, the court required the plaintiff to swear an oath confirming he had transferred Dh23,586 by mistake, that the defendant did not legitimately owe him, and that the amount had not been returned.

An expert banking report commissioned by the court confirmed the transfer had gone into the defendant’s account, and on the following day Dh23,554 was withdrawn, though the method was not clear from the statements.

The report noted that the plaintiff, who had the defendant’s account saved as a beneficiary in the bank app, re-sent the same amount the same day to the intended recipient, supporting his claim of error. The expert could find no evidence of any continuing business relationship or documented reason for the transfer, nor evidence that the amount had been repaid. 

The conclusion was that the sum was transferred by mistake and therefore the defendant was liable. Therefore, the court ruled that the defendant must repay Dh23,586, plus legal costs and fees, and dismissed all other claims.