An ex-employee at a business centre has been sentenced to two years in jail for embezzling more than Dh 8.3 million from the Dubai Department of Economic Development by abusing his access privilege to log into its electronic system and tamper with the fees of renewal and cancellation of trade licenses.
According to prosecution records, the 30-year-old Egyptian used his IT skills to falsify data related to the fees due for Dubai Municipality and then issue payment receipts which he handed to customers to settle at the DED.
He has been found guilty by the Court of First Instance of embezzlement, illegally access into an e-system and forgery and was ordered to pay Dh150,000 in fines.
Three other Egyptians and a Syrian, who have been found guilty of aiding and abetting him, were each sentenced to one year in jail and ordered to pay Dh40,000 worth of fines.
They will all be deported after completing their jail terms, as per the court's order.
The director of the legal affairs department at the DED said that he learnt about the matter when a customer checked with the registration section about the fees.
That customer said he had been given a big discount on the fees of license renewal and was inquiring whether the department did such discounts or whether there must have been a mistake.
They then knew that the main defendant tampered with the fees after unlawfully logging into the DED's e-system and renewing trade licenses without first settling the municipality fees.
They also knew that he would shut the surveillance cameras inside his office and blame it on some technical glitch.
A police lieutenant said that the main accused was arrested on March 10, last year, and his two phones and two laptops were seized.
According to a report from the DED, as many as 901 companies benefitted of discounts worth more than Dh8.3 million, illegally given by the main defendant.
The verdict remains subject to appeal.
By Marie Nammour
