Account asked for a Dh2.5 million bribe, Dubai court hears

DUBAI // An accountant working at the Dubai Ruler’s Court asked for a Dh2.5 million bribe from a man in return for providing him with a financial report to use in an ongoing court case, Dubai Criminal Court heard.

Egyptian A D, 43, denied a charge of seeking and accepting a bribe. “This did not happen and I didn’t take any money from him,” he said.

Prosecutors said that A D was responsible for preparing financial reports in cases referred by Dubai Criminal Court or Dubai Public Prosecution.

Records stated that he asked Lebanese investor M Y, 59, to pay him the bribe in return for writing a report in M Y’s favour.

M Y started an engineering consultancy in Dubai in 2005 and paid an Emirati Dh40,000 in return for his sponsorship of the company’s licence. In 2008, M Y sold his share with the knowledge of the sponsor, but in 2013 the sponsor filed a criminal case against him.

In January this year A D called M Y and asked him to come to the Ruler’s Court.

“When I arrived he asked me to take him to the location of the engineering company. Shortly after he asked that we stopped in a cafe’,” recalled M Y, adding that A D complained about his financial situation.

“I asked when the report in my case will be ready, he said in two or three years but if I wanted it faster and in my favour I should offer him money. I said how much, he replied Dh2.5 million,” said M Y, who informed his lawyer who reported the matter to the authorities.

M Y was asked to negotiate the bribe amount with A D who reduced it to Dh2 million and agreed to take Dh300,000 as a first payment.

On March 3 this year, the two men met in a cafe in Jumeirah after officers from National Security provided M Y with Dh300,000. He was also fitted with a wire to record the conversation.

“He took the cash and wrote a note on a napkin to pay him the rest of the amount by 9pm the same day. He then left so I called the officers,” M Y said.

W A, a 34-year-old captain with National Security, testified that A D was arrested at 8.30pm the same day.

“He was with two women and when we arrested him he slit his wrist with the car key and said he wanted to die. We found Dh97,000 in his car which he claimed were savings,” W A said.

The next hearing will be on September 16 to summon the witnesses.