Hotel official jailed for swindling Dhs252,000 in Dubai

Hamza M Sengendo, Staff Reporter

A hotel official who stole guests’ security deposits worth Dhs252,245 must see out his two-year jail term, the Dubai Appeals Court has upheld.

The Asian defendant, 33, was heading the hotel’s securities section when he faked reclaim forms. He scanned original forms and altered guests’ bankcard numbers to the number listed on his credit card.

He sent the forged reclaim forms to a national bank where the hotel was depositing its money. Based on the forged forms, the bank sent the money to his account. The swindle came to light last year.

The Dubai Criminal Court sentenced him to two years behind bars to be followed by deportation. He appealed seeking to challenge the ruling. However, the Dubai Appeals Court has rejected his plea.

An Egyptian manager said the defendant was working as the head of the hotel’s credit section. He was in charge of following up with guests’ credit in the hotel’s bank account and processing reclaim forms.

“The bank sent us a letter informing us it suspected money transfers from the bank’s account to the same person’s credit card. We discovered the card belonged to the defendant,” explained the manager. He swindled money by forging reclaim forms. Originals were with him in the accounts department. He scanned them using his computer and altered guests’ bankcard numbers to his credit card number.

“He would send fake forms to the bank ordering cash transfers. All reclaimed amounts were sent to his bank account. He targeted deposits of several guests and withdrew the money for his own benefit.”

The manager revealed the administration conducted an internal investigation and discovered he waged the illegal activities from November 2017 until July 2018 and siphoned a total of Dhs252,245.

“He availed himself of the money for his personal gains and never refunded any part of it,” said the manager. During workplace questioning the defendant wrote a confession statement.

During questionings at Al Barsha Police Station and the Dubai Public Prosecution he admitted to theft, forgery and use of forged documents.