A Dubai accountant who embezzled nearly Dh200,000 of his company's funds over a period of more than a year has had his jail sentence slashed.
The Filipino worker, 39, stole Dh193,089 belonging to his employer through 20 fraudulent financial transactions carried out between August 2012 and October 2013.
His crimes went unnoticed until 2017, when a partner at the investment company finally began to unravel his myriad offences.
The fraudster, whose duties included issuing receipts, cashing cheques and depositing company funds, was handed a five-year sentence at the Dubai Criminal Court in April, after being convicted of forgery, using forged documents and embezzlement.
The court heard the incident only came to light when a partner at the company was requested to pay an outstanding amount for a transaction he had completed using cash.
The partner presented a receipt for the payment he had made.
It emerged the defendant had pocketed the cash for himself and then registered the payment in the company's financial records as a postdated cheque.
An internal review of the accountant's previous financial dealings was then launched by the company.
“The defendant signed a confession after an internal investigation. He repaid Dh91,179 and promised to pay the remaining Dh101,910,” said a company manager.
The accountant took his case to Dubai's Court of Appeal, which agreed to reduce his sentence to a year.
He was fined Dh150,000 and ordered to pay back the funds he stole from the company in full.
