Dubai: The chief of Dubai Police has called for action against top officials implicated in cases of administrative corruption.
Lieutenant-General Dahi Khalfan Tamim urged authorities to strip such officials of any immunity from prosecution which they may hold.
He said such action would result in the prosecution of implicated officials in the last cycle of investigations to unearth administrative corruption.
"For the government to retrieve its money and revenues from administrative corruption by various establishments, they have to lift the immunity and authorise an investigative team to interrogate those senior officials and [ensure they] ... face prosecution.
"If the senior officials are to be let go, then the small ones should be freed as well. There is a list of names [of] all the officials who are required for investigation, no matter how small or big the person's position.
"The only gap missing in the cycle of investigations in corruption is to force the senior official[s] to take part in the interrogation," he said at a press conference yesterday.
Lt Gen Dahi called for the creation of a unified investigative team composed of officials from the Public Prosecution, the Dubai Financial Control department and state security agencies.
He said officials from the Public Prosecution would follow up on cases while those from the Dubai Financial Control department would provide authentic financial documentation. Security officials would then carry out criminal investigations.
"I am not satisfied with the current investigation as it needs more empowerment and unity so that it is proactively involved in limiting and ending corruption," he said.
"Corruption is a worldwide issue and hits every corporate and what started the problem in Dubai is the absence of financial monitoring of establishments.
"They were given absolute confidence and [the] freedom to practice without any monitoring upon their request from the government. Personally I believe monitoring is the first step to prevent corruption," he added.
Bad management
According to Lieutenant-General Dahi, corruption is a result of bad management.
He said most cases of graft in the emirate were committed by officials with criminal intent. He said this could only be solved by prosecution and imprisonment.
Earlier, Lieutenant General Dahi revealed that corruption and fraud at Dubai's state companies was very high and said there would be new and tougher penalties for violators.
"Something is unusual. We have never had such a high number of people involved in corruption," he told Reuters earlier.
Lieutenant General Dahi earlier also said police had drawn up "a list of more than 60 people mainly from government-linked companies" who are under investigation. However, he said no one on the list was from a government department.
"We never had this conduct in our government practices. But at government-linked companies, some thought there was a large scope for a lack of discipline," he said.
"We request the government to give the green light to bring the people involved in corruption to be investigated and prosecuted according to our laws."
