Al Ain Court orders man to repay Dh9,832 after refusing to return money wrongly transferred to his account

Al Ain: The Al Ain Court for Civil, Commercial, and Administrative Claims  has ordered a young man to repay Dh9,832 to another individual after he received the amount in his bank account by mistake and refused to return it, Emarat Al Youm reported. 

According to court documents, the plaintiff filed a lawsuit seeking repayment of the Dh9,832 along with legal fees and costs, explaining that he had accidentally transferred the amount to the defendant’s bank account. 

Despite several attempts to contact both the bank and the recipient to recover the money, the defendant neither responded nor refunded the funds.

The court noted that the defendant failed to appear in the proceedings despite being properly notified in accordance with legal procedures.

In its judgment, the court cited Article provisions of the UAE Civil Transactions Law, which state that “no one may take another’s property without a lawful reason; and if they do, they must return it.”

The court also referred to a prior ruling by the Al Ain Public Prosecution, which found the defendant guilty of receiving funds that belonged to another person under circumstances suggesting their unlawful origin. 

The prosecution determined that the defendant accepted the transfer into his account despite having no prior financial or contractual relationship with the sender.

While the criminal decision does not carry binding authority in civil cases, the court said it could rely on it as corroborative evidence since the defendant failed to present any counterarguments or proof that he was entitled to the money.

After reviewing the evidence and confirming that the funds were received without legal basis, the court ruled in favor of the plaintiff, ordering the defendant to repay the Dh9,832 and cover legal costs.

In its reasoning, the court stated that the defendant’s silence and failure to appear reinforced the conclusion that he was unjustly enriched at the expense of the plaintiff.