Three of 10 defendants accused of embezzling Dh1.5m from a bank to serve jail term

Three out of ten people who stood trial for allegedly using forged documents to embezzle Dh1.5 million from a local bank have been convicted by the Dubai Criminal Court and sentenced to six months in prison each.
The remaining defendants, who include a Pakistani woman, four Pakistani men and two Indian men, all aged between 23 and 41, were acquitted.
The three convicted defendants were found guilty of forgery, use of forged documents and embezzlement, while the remaining seven were charged with aiding and abetting.
Records show the three main defendants forged credit card applications and submitted them to the bank, which later issued the cards. The cards were used to withdraw a total of Dh1.5m.
"We received a complaint from a bank client who said a credit card was issued under his name, which he didn't apply for," said the bank's Emirati internal investigations manager.
He said an internal investigation revealed that more than 70 credit card applications submitted to the bank contained altered documents.
"The man told us he was approached by a bank's employee who offered him a loan, then obtained his documents, which were later forged and used to apply for a credit card," said the manager, who reported the incident to police.
The defendants were arrested and questioned. Prosecutors said they all admitted to charges during questioning, but in court in January, only one admitted to aiding and abetting.
The seven others denied all charges.
Those convicted will be deported after serving their prison terms, but they can appeal their sentences within 14 days.