Former UAE minister of state Khalifa Mohammad Bakhit Al Falasi was on Monday sentenced to two years in jail by the Dubai Misdemeanours Courts after being found guilty of fraud and embezzlement.
The charges related to swindling a Lebanese woman of her family's Dubai-based business, an undisclosed amount of money, believed to be millions of dirhams, and a large property.
Two other defendants - American businessman Salim Helmy Abdullah and Indian businessman Bilal Madhom Raman - were also jailed for two years.
The former minister's son, Mohammed Khalifa Al Falasi, was acquitted on all charges.
In an exception to its usual policy, an official statement from Dubai Courts named all the defendants.
Presiding Judge Hamad Abdul Latif also initiated an action for a civil suit which is to be filed on behalf of the victim against the three defendants.
The charges, brought by Lebanese businesswoman Maysoon Fahmy Jamal, led to the former minister's dismissal by a presidential decree last July, just five months after his appointment.
Ms Jamal, according to Dubai Public Prosecution, was involved in business dealings with Al Falasi since 1995.
In her deposition to prosecutors, she said her late brother Hassan Fahmy Jamal was the owner of an IT company which developed computer security technology.
Khalifa Mohammad Bakhit Al Falasi was, for a fee, the company's sponsor.
She said that between May 2005 and May 2008, Al Falasi and the two other defendants who were employed under him swindled her by tricking her into signing a release form in order for the former minister and his partners to take over the company.
She stated that the group falsely informed her that the former minister was a part-owner in the company and approached her with business offerings that could boost her other businesses.
The minister, his son, and their co-defendants earlier denied all charges. Those found guilty are expected to file an appeal immediately.
