Emirati man charged with faking own death to dodge Dh700,000 loan

Dubai Criminal Court heard how the accused's wife also claimed Dh1 million in child support

Court hearings in Dubai have been halted as part of efforts to limit the spread of coronavirus. Courtesy: AFP     

A man sacked from the UAE military after his wife reported him for drinking alcohol has appeared in court accused of faking his own death to avoid repaying a Dh700,000 loan.

Dubai Criminal Court heard how the Emirati man, 50, fled to Yemen after being dismissed from his job in 2008.

Once there, he created a fake death certificate in an effort to avoid paying off a substantial loan to a UAE bank.

Prosecutors said the man's father and wife assisted in the deception, with the wife of the accused using the certificate to claim more than Dh1 million in child support.

“I lost my investments in Yemen so I asked for help in getting a fake death certificate,” the accused told prosecutors.

“When my father came to pick up the document, he tried to get me to return to the country but I refused.

“Years later, after I was registered dead, I tried to enter the UAE illegally from Oman but was arrested and sent to jail.”

This week, the man appeared in court in Dubai charged with forgery and using forged documents.

Prosecutors said he was jailed for a month in the UAE in 2008 after being found guilty of drinking alcohol and threatening behaviour.

After his release, he lost his in job in the military and moved to Yemen, where he faked his own death certificate with help from an uncle.

However, in October 2018, the man was arrested after being caught trying to enter the UAE illegally from Oman.

He was sentenced to five months in prison and deported back to the UAE after serving his term. Once there, authorities in the Emirates uncovered his scam.

“We discovered he had been jailed and given 80 lashes for drinking alcohol and issuing threats in 2008,” a police witness told the court.

“After serving his term, he was sacked from the Armed Forces. In order not to pay back the loan he had taken, he left the country and lived in Yemen.

“There, he thought of the scam and carried it out with help from his uncle. His father presented the death certificate to the local bank and had the loan dropped.”

The accused’s father appeared in court on Sunday charged with forgery, the use of forged documents and aiding and abetting a crime.

The accused’s wife was also charged with using forged documents to fraudulently obtain Dh1m in child support. The case was adjourned to an unspecified date.