Bank manager gets six months for Dh2m embezzlement

He transferred customer fees to personal accounts, records show.

DUBAI // An executive manager of individual sales at Dubai Commercial Bank was sentenced to six months in prison today for embezzling more than Dh2 million.

The Dubai Criminal Court of First Instance found that the 28-year-old Indian RA took Dh2,560,087, and he was fined the same amount. He also was convicted of forging official electronic documents to cover his trail.

RA admitted to both charges and said he returned the funds to the bank, providing documents to prove it.

Prosecutors said RA, who was in charge of bank transfers, started embezzling on August 15, 2007.

He ordered employees under him at the Al Maktoum branch to deduct "bank facilitation fees" from clients' accounts, and instead of depositing them with the bank, he schemed to transfer them to accounts under a male alias and his sister's name.

Records show his sister knew nothing of the scam.

Prosecutors said RA invested the money in the Indian stock market through Axix Bank in India and earned more than Dh300,000.