Employee seizes goods, sells them for his own interest for Dhs166,000 in UAE

Abdulrahman Saeed, Staff Reporter

The Abu Dhabi Family, Civil and Administrative Cases Court has ordered an employee to repay the sum of Dhs166,953 and imposed a fine of Dhs50,000 for manipulating in the financial records and seizing assets in the name of the company he represents from a business partner.

In details, a company sued one of its employees, seeking a ruling for the recovery of the sum of Dhs166,953 that had been embezzled by him, with 12% legal interest from the date of the judicial claim until payment, in addition to Dhs100,000 in compensation for material and moral damages. Furthermore, the proceedings sought an order for the payment of fees, expenses and attorney's fees.

In order to substantiate its assertion, the plaintiff company stated that the defendant had misappropriated the aforementioned sum by procuring goods on behalf of the company from one of its business partners. This was purportedly achieved by manipulating purchase orders, attaching fictitious invoices and subsequently selling the goods for the defendant's personal gain.

The plaintiff filed a complaint with the Public Prosecution and referred it to the court, which subsequently issued a criminal verdict acquitting the defendant. The Court filed an appeal against the verdict, and the court ruled in absentia to accept the appeal, annul the appealed verdict, convict the defendant and sentence him to a fine of Dhs50,000 and oblige him to pay the fees. However, the defendant was not satisfied with the verdict and filed an appeal against it in cassation. The court ruled to reject the appeal, confiscate the security deposit, and oblige the appellant to pay the fees.

The Court explained that the judgement substantiates the defendant's utilisation of the purchase orders for personal gain. This entailed the appropriation of goods, subsequent sale of said goods, and the subsequent appropriation of the proceeds derived from the sale. Consequently, the Court ordered the defendant to pay Dhs166,953, which will be awarded.

The Court ruled in favour of the plaintiff, ordering the defendant to pay a sum of Dhs50,000 in compensation for the damages incurred.