Dubai gallery worker embezzled Dh247,000 from owner, court hears

The gallery owner, a Kuwaiti royal, told the court: 'I did not report her because I cared for the money. I am wealthy and I don’t care about the money but I was hurt because she betrayed me.'

DUBAI// A gallery employee embezzled almost Dh250,000 from its Kuwaiti royal owner by forging receipts for expenses, the Criminal Court heard.

Gallery owner L A, 36, told the court: “I did not report her because I cared for the money. I am wealthy and I don’t care about the money but I was hurt because she betrayed me and stabbed me in the back.”

Prosecutors charged the defendant G S, 38, an Indian, with forgery of official and non-official documents, use of the forged documents and embezzlement of Dh247,204 from L A.

Prosecutors said the embezzlement happened between February 2012 and July last year, but it was discovered only after the defendant resigned in last year.

G S denied all charges in court.

L A said the defendant worked for her as a consultant in London for four years before her gallery opened in Dubai.

After this, G S was the gallery’s only employee, with full powers to manage the gallery and its bank account.

“She was keeping me posted about the work but I was surprised to see that the gallery was running at a loss,” said L A.

“So I knew she was presenting fake receipts for fake expenses, which then turned out to be the money she embezzled.”

An audit revealed the embezzlements and forgeries, said L A, after the companies in which names the receipts were issued were contacted and they denied issuing them.

“One bill was from the Dubai Civil Defence and another was from the health insurance. I was hurt, because I fully trusted her and took care of her from the very beginning,” said LA.

P P, 41, a French sales manager who worked at the gallery, testified that he hired a company to carry out maintenance work on surveillance cameras in the gallery.

“I arranged with a maintenance company that G S had done business with before,” he said.

“When they came to the gallery, they spoke about the bill that was issued before, but they said the amount in the bill was not correct and was for more than they charged.”

P P then informed his employer who asked him to recheck all the receipts.

Prosecutors said G S had forged almost 20 receipts.

The next hearing will be on November 9.