Two jailed for illegally selling cars from dealership

The two men, who illegally sold more than two dozen cars, have been sentenced to prison time.

DUBAI // Two men who illegally sold more than two dozen cars and pocketed the money from the car dealership where they were worked were sentenced today to prison time.

The Dubai Criminal Court of First Instance sentenced WM, 27, of Syria to seven years followed by deportation for illegally obtaining more than Dh500,000 in cash, three contracts to import cars, two signed blank cheques and three cheque books from Dubai Commercial Bank, as well as 18 cars.

The court also sentenced AH, 28, of Oman, to three years for being an accomplice to WM, helping him to sell 11 cars.

The men were also referred to civil court.

The car brands included BMW, Toyota, Lexus, Mercedes, Audi, Ford, and Honda. Prosecutors say they were illegally sold from Al Diyaa Company, which trades in vehicles.

Records show that the incidents took place between May 25, 2009 and February 16, 2010. The thieves conducted the illegal operation with the assistance of a man identified in records as MM, who remains at large.

ZM, 54, of Syria, a partner at the car trading company, testified that he was jailed in a bounced cheque case, and that he asked WM and MM to run the company in his absence.

ZM had left 33 cars at the company in May 2009 before he was jailed, but friends and business owners near the company told him that only five cars remained.

"They told me that the car sales were very rapid at my company, which aroused my suspicions," he said, according to public prosecution records.

ZM's lawyer checked on the company, and retrieved all official documents and car keys from the two men.

ZM reported the incident to police after he discovered that 26 cars had been shipped to different countries, including Japan, for much less than their combined value of Dh3.8 million.