Dubai court awards Dh3.15m after 15kg of 24-carat gold unlawfully taken  

Dubai: A man who unlawfully took 15kg of 24-carat gold belonging to two business partners has been ordered to pay Dh3.15 million in compensation, after a criminal conviction for embezzlement was upheld through all stages of appeal.

The Dubai Court of First Instance ruled that the Asian defendant must also pay legal interest of 5 per cent from the date the judgment becomes final until full settlement, along with court fees, expenses and legal costs.

According to case details, the two claimants had filed a police report accusing the man of misappropriating gold that had been entrusted to him. The public prosecution referred the matter to the criminal court, which found him guilty of embezzlement, Emarat Al Youm reported. 

He was sentenced to six months in prison, fined Dh3.5 million to cover the value of the gold that could not be recovered and ordered to be deported after completing his sentence. The conviction was later confirmed on appeal and by the Court of Cassation.

In its civil judgment, the court said liability under UAE law requires three elements: fault, damage and a causal link between them. These are established under Article 282 of the Civil Transactions Law, which defines a harmful act as exceeding the required limits or failing to meet expected standards, whether through action or omission, and whether intentional or negligent.

While the burden of proof normally lies with the injured party, the court explained that a final criminal conviction is binding in civil proceedings on matters already determined, including the occurrence of the act, its legal classification and the identity of the offender. This principle is grounded in Article 269 of the Criminal Procedures Law and Article 50 of the Evidence Law, as well as established rulings of Dubai’s Court of Cassation.

The judges said the criminal ruling, which confirmed that the defendant had taken gold valued at Dh3.5 million, prevented the civil court from re-examining the issue of fault. Instead, the focus shifted to assessing the harm suffered by the claimants.

The court found that the losses went beyond the value of the gold. The men were deprived of the opportunity to benefit from or invest the asset since the date of the incident and suffered moral damage by being forced to pursue lengthy legal proceedings to recover their rights.

It added that determining compensation is a matter of judicial discretion, provided the reasoning is based on evidence in the case file. The court therefore awarded total damages of Dh3.15 million.