Staff of UAE Volleyball Association jailed for embezzlement

DUBAI // A secretary of the UAE Volleyball Association was sentenced to a year in prison after being convicted of embezzlement and forgery.

The Egyptian OS, 24, admitted to the Dubai Criminal Court that he stole Dh68,000 from the organisation by forging four cheques.

The fraud was discovered by NM, a 46-year-old accountant, who was auditing the association’s account when he discovered a cheque that had not been issued was cashed.

“The cheque was worth Dh8,000,” said the accountant, who said he then found another three cheques missing.

Following the discovery, he received a call from the secretary who requested for a meeting with him.

The secretary told the accountant at the meeting that he had taken the four cheques and cashed them by forging the signatures.

He added that he was planning to leave for Egypt.

The accountant had alerted another colleague about the meeting and when the colleague arrived, the two of them escorted the secretary back to the association and contacted police.

The court fined OS Dh68,000 and ordered him to repay the same amount to the association.

He will be deported after completing his prison term.

salamir@thenational.ae