Accountant who stole Dh250,000 from Dubai hotel guests is jailed

Fraudster entered his own bank account details on deposit reclaim forms handed in by customers

A conniving accountant who stole more than Dh250,000 worth of deposits from guests at a Dubai hotel has been handed a two-year jail sentence.

The Filipino employee entered his own bank account details on deposit reclaim forms filed by people staying at the hotel where he worked to ensure their money went to him, Dubai Criminal Court was told.

The 33-year-old pocketed Dh252,000 during a series of fraudulent transactions carried out between November, 2017 and July of last year,

His crimes were uncovered when his bank sent a letter to the hotel's administration team to raise concerns over the fact that all reclaimed amounts had been transferred to the same account.

“We were informed the account belonged to the accountant,” said an official from the hotel.

The accused stole amounts deposited by hotel guests as guarantee prior to their stay.
When guests filled up original forms to reclaim their guarantees, he added his account number on copies of the forms and filed them to the bank.

The man admitted theft, forgery and using forged documents during investigations by police and prosecutors.

He denied the offences when he appeared in court, but was found guilty of all charges.

He will be deported after serving his prison term.