ABU DHABI // A bank employee increased the limit on his own credit card, then fled the country and used the card to withdraw Dh250,000 in cash from banks in Lebanon, a court has been told. FZ, a Syrian, is still on the run; he is being tried in his absence. Prosecutors say he increased his credit card's limit to Dh850,000 from Dh39,000 and the limit on his father's card to Dh270,000 at the end of office hours on a Thursday; he then flew to Lebanon that evening. He took advantage of the weekend to avoid being caught, said Mohammed Abdulrahman, a lawyer for the bank, Finance House.
FZ tried to withdraw large amounts of cash from his credit account at an ATM, but the machine would not process transactions of the size he attempted, the court was told. Instead, he withdrew about Dh250,000 at bank counters on 26 separate occasions before employees became suspicious and froze both cards, two days after he fled the UAE. FZ is charged with abuse of office and cyber crime-related offences. A ruling is expected on October 3.
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