Bank manager steals Dh23m from housewife’s account, Dubai court hears

Accounts manager at a local bank stole five million pounds sterling (Dh23,600,000) from an Emirati housewife’s account with the help of the her husband, Dubai Criminal Court was told.

DUBAI// An accounts manager at a local bank stole five million pounds sterling (Dh23,600,000) from an Emirati housewife’s account with the help of her husband, Dubai Criminal Court was told.

The Emirati manager, 37, denied charges of theft, forgery of official documents and use of forged official documents when he appeared in court.

The victim’s husband, an Emirati aged 37, was charged with forgery and use of forged documents as well as aiding and abetting. He did not appear in court to enter a plea.

The 39-year-old housewife said she opened the bank account in 2009 and in the same year started a fixed deposit. When she did not receive any profits she contacted the accounts manager.

“He sent me an email in August 2010 confirming that the procedures for the fixed deposit had been completed and recommended that I continue my investment for another year,” said the woman, adding she received several emails from the manager asking her to sign some documents which she refused to do.

In September 2011, she emailed the manager asking him to transfer the amount of her fixed deposit to a different bank because she had not received any profits.

“But he kept stalling so I visited the bank and met the bank manager and another man, they told me that my account had zero money in it,” said the woman, who reported the incident to the bank’s legal affairs department.

“When the legal affairs didn’t do anything, I reported it to Al Rashidiyah police station,” she said.

The manager told police that the woman’s husband was handling her fixed deposit after she gave him official authorisation, which she denied.

“I didn’t give my husband any authorisation to withdraw or transfer the money, I just gave him an authorisation to handle general inquires by phone and fax,” she said.

The next hearing will be on July 4.