Bank manager accused of embezzling Dh26 million from customer

Emirati stands accused of forging the account holder's signature and changing the mobile phone number linked to the account so the account holder would not know about the transactions.

DUBAI // A bank’s branch manager is accused of embezzling Dh26 million from a customer’s account after altering documents and forging signatures.

Prosecutors said the Emirati defendant, 31, forged the rightful account holder’s signature and contact details then used the forgeries to withdraw cash, make transfers and cash cheques from the account between November 2010 and July 2014.

He is facing 17 counts of embezzlement, forgery and use of forged documents, however he was not confronted with the charges on Wednesday. The court ordered the case to be referred to prosecution for amendments, though the nature of the amendments were not explained in court.

The defendant was allegedly aided and abetted by a 29-year-old countryman who worked at the same bank.

The pair are additionally charged with money laundering.

“The first defendant was responsible for managing my account and I did not sign or fill up any transfers. I didn’t issue cheques nor did I order payments to anyone. As for the second defendant, I don’t know him,” said the alleged victim, a 54-year-old Emirati.

The bank’s Sudanese legal consultant said that the manager had firstly applied to change the phone number of the account holder, so he did not receive any text messages related to any account activity.

He said the defendant then made four transfers of Dh1.9m from the victim’s account, followed by several other transfers, payments and withdrawals.

“He also cashed 46 cheques of Dh8.5m from the victim’s account,” said the consultant.

It was not made clear how the incident came to light.