Tunisians ‘tried to steal Dh15m of Armed Forces’ money’


Salam Al Amir
  • English
  • Arabic

Two Tunisians tried to con the country’s Armed Forces out of more than Dh15 million by trying to cash four forged cheques in local banks, a Dubai court heard on Sunday.

The pair, aged 33 and 37, are among seven on trial related to the case.

At Dubai Criminal Court, the two men denied charges of forgery, use of forged cheques, fraudulently obtaining Dh3.02m and attempting to fraudulently obtain Dh3.4m from the Armed Forces’ bank account. They did not get the chance to withdraw the rest of the Dh15m before being arrested, it is alleged.

Three other defendants - a Bangladeshi and German, both 42, and a 35-year-old Egyptian - are charged with aiding and abetting the Tunisians by providing them with their companies’ bank details with two local banks so the cheques could be withdrawn in their companies’ names in return for between 5 to 10 per cent of the total amount.

The trio are additionally charged with possessing the illegally obtained money despite knowing its source. All three denied the charges against them on Sunday morning.

“I haven’t possessed any amounts in my company’s bank account,” said the German defendant to judges.

The Egyptian told judges that he was introduced to the 37-year-old Tunisian when making a business investment.

“I was offered to become partner in return for Dh700,000 profit. After I did, I was shocked to see that Dh3.7m was deposited in my company’s bank account. I asked him about it and he told me it was deposited by mistake but I had no idea the cheque was altered,” said the Egyptian.

A sixth defendant, also Tunisian, 51, denied a charge of hiding three of the other defendants when they were wanted by authorities.

“I didn’t hide them in my flat, it’s the opposite - I was a guest at their apartment,” said the 51-year-old in court.

A 38-year-old Bangladeshi was also charged with refraining from reporting the crime to authorities after he became aware of it, something he denies.

The incident came to light on January 31, one day after the 33-year-old Tunisian deposited a Dh3.8m into his account.

“The Tunisian deposited a cheque on January 30 via the machine, and as per procedure we sent a copy of the cheque to the local bank where the Armed Forces account is, then they sent us the approval, after which he withdrew Dh200,000 on January 31 and another man withdrew Dh1.15m the same day,” said an Emirati bank manager, 45.

The defendants deposited two more cheques that day but later that same day, the Armed Forces’ bank sent a letter to say that the cheques were all forgeries.

The bank manager said the defendants’ accounts were then immediately suspended.

“One cheque with Dh3.7m was deposited into our bank in an account for the Egyptian defendant on January 31 and it was approved, after which he withdrew Dh450,000 and, when he tried to take one million, it was denied by the ATM as the cash was not available,” said a Jordanian manager at another bank.

He said that the next day they received a letter that the cheque was forged.

Police arrested two of the defendants between January 31 and February 2. Three others were arrested in a flat in Oud Metha, Dubai, on February 8.

Police found Dh168,335 in their possession and ATM receipts.

Another defendant was arrested in Oman on February 11 after fleeing the country and the last was arrested on February 24.

The next hearing is on August 20.

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Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30 

 

Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse

 

Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth

 

Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances

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Salah in numbers

€39 million: Liverpool agreed a fee, including add-ons, in the region of 39m (nearly Dh176m) to sign Salah from Roma last year. The exchange rate at the time meant that cost the Reds £34.3m - a bargain given his performances since.

13: The 25-year-old player was not a complete stranger to the Premier League when he arrived at Liverpool this summer. However, during his previous stint at Chelsea, he made just 13 Premier League appearances, seven of which were off the bench, and scored only twice.

57: It was in the 57th minute of his Liverpool bow when Salah opened his account for the Reds in the 3-3 draw with Watford back in August. The Egyptian prodded the ball over the line from close range after latching onto Roberto Firmino's attempted lob.

7: Salah's best scoring streak of the season occurred between an FA Cup tie against West Brom on January 27 and a Premier League win over Newcastle on March 3. He scored for seven games running in all competitions and struck twice against Tottenham.

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30: The goal against Bournemouth ensured the Egyptian achieved another milestone in becoming the first African player to score 30 times across one Premier League campaign.

8: As well as his fine form in England, Salah has also scored eight times in the tournament phase of this season's Champions League. Only Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, with 15 to his credit, has found the net more often in the group stages and knockout rounds of Europe's premier club competition.

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Key figures in the life of the fort

Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.

Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.

Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.

Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.

Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.

Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.

Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.

Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.

Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae

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