A UAE court acquits employees of embezzlement of 3 million dirhams for this reason
The Dubai Court of Appeal has overturned a verdict issued by a lower court convicting two Asian workers: the first accused of embezzling approximately three million dirhams from a real estate investment firm where he is employed, and the second accused of being an accomplice to and colluding with the first in committing the embezzlement offense, as well as receiving a portion of the funds taken from the company's tenants' rent payments.
Upon reviewing the appeals filed by the defendants, the Court of Appeal decided to acquit them due to its lack of confidence in the evidence presented, deeming the accusations to be based solely on suspicions and lacking documentation to substantiate the commission of the crime.
According to the indictment, the first defendant abused his authority within the victim company in administrative and financial matters, collecting rental payments from tenants occupying the company's apartments. With the assistance of the second defendant, he managed to misappropriate a sum totaling two million, nine hundred and eighty-four thousand dirhams.
During investigations, a witness for the prosecution claimed that the first accused had embezzled approximately three million dirhams over a five-month period. An internal inquiry revealed multiple violations committed by the defendant, who confessed to aiding the second accused.
While both defendants denied the charges during the public prosecutor's interrogations, the first defendant failed to appear at the trial session despite being notified, whereas the second defendant attended and presented documents refuting his involvement in the crime.
The lower court, after examining the case, found the first defendant guilty of embezzlement based on the seizure incident, witness testimonies, and an accounting report. It sentenced both defendants to six months in prison and fined them the embezzled amount.
The defendants appealed this ruling to the Court of Appeal. Lawyer Muhammad Abdullah Al-Rida, representing the second defendant, stated that the court-appointed accounting expert's examination revealed insufficient evidence in the company's report relied upon by the prosecution.
The Court of Appeal ruled that the documents presented, including the company's advisory report, were inadequate to substantiate the defendants' alleged embezzlement. It emphasized the necessity for criminal judgments to be based on conclusive evidence, which was lacking in this case. Consequently, the court acquitted the defendants and annulled the initial verdict, as the evidence provided by the company was deemed insufficient for conviction.
