Dubai: A businessman has been accused of paying Dh541,000 in bribes to the director of a bank’s stock exchange section to purchase Dh70 million worth of shares that were in low demand.
The 37-year-old Pakistani director was said to have taken bribes totalling Dh541,000 from a 36-year-old compatriot businessman to buy the undesirable shares from six different companies.
A legal adviser at the bank discovered that the director had taken bribes to purchase the shares that were being traded in the Pakistani market but were not in high demand over different periods, said records.
Prosecutors accused the 37-year-old suspect of abusing his job at the bank and taking bribe to purchase shares. The 36-year-old was accused of bribing the other suspect [director of the bank’s stock exchange section].
According to the accusation sheet, prosecutors said the suspects committed the crime between July 2015 and June 2016.
The duo pleaded not guilty before the Dubai Court of First Instance on Thursday.
Their lawyers asked presiding judge Urfan Omar to adjourn the hearing to hear prosecution witnesses when the court reconvenes next month.
The bank’s legal adviser testified to prosecutors that the transactions were detected following an internal auditing at the bank.
“We discovered that the 37-year-old suspect had abused his authority to trade in the undesired stocks in the market against a bribe that he took from the 36-year-old suspect. The suspect used to collect the bribe money and deposit it in his personal bank account … sometimes, the businessman used to transfer the money to his account. The 37-year-old signed a written confession about the wrongdoings that he had done,” claimed the legal adviser.
The trial continues.
