(MENAFN - Khaleej Times) An auditor was tried in absentia by the Court of First Instance on Monday on the charge of embezzling over Dh15.7 million from an academic institute where he worked.
According to prosecution records, the 37-year-old Indian auditor fled the UAE in mid-December last year after being exposed by the institution's administration. He was charged with embezzlement of public funds and forgery.
The defendant, who handled the finances of the institution, allegedly abused his post of a public officer to forge and falsify the data and details of 57 cheques meant to be paid to the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) and telecom provider du, and making himself the beneficiary, instead.
He allegedly falsified 75 other cheques meant to pay DHL dues. He also unlawfully collected 60 more cheques from the institute's local bank.
The institute chairman, a 71-year-old Briton, told the prosecutor that as usual, at the end of the academic year, they asked another auditor to check and verify the finances in July 2010. Statements and records were recalled from the defendant who then claimed there was a glitch in the electronic system which could be a possible cause for some inconsistencies.
The administration got suspicious when the accused stalled the whole process till November of the same year and became increasingly elusive for the audit job and skipped work. They checked the electronic system and it turned out it was functioning properly. At that point, they hired an independent auditor who discovered several embezzlements by the accused.
The auditor found out that the defendant encashed 204 cheques allocated for bill payments after falsifying the details on those cheques, including the beneficiary's name and amount.
When his wrongdoings were exposed, the accused fled the UAE through the Dubai International Airport and he is known to have purchased property with the millions he embezzled. A letter from the Land Department said that he possessed a residential unit in Dubai Marina, of which he became the owner in August last year.
