Driver accused of fraudulently cashing cheques for almost Dh1m before fleeing the country

The driver is accused of forging his manager's signature to withdraw money from his employer's account

A driver is accused of fraudulently cashing cheques for almost Dh1 million from the account of the private company he worked for before fleeing the country.

The driver's Indian manager, 41, said the driver worked for him for three years and in June 2016, as he was flying to India, he tasked the driver to bring him his laptop from the office.

"I left the country and while I was abroad, [the driver] called me and said that a family emergency had occurred and he needed his passport to fly home. So I ordered that he was given his passport and on August 5 the same year he left. When I returned to Dubai, I noticed that Dh940,000 was missing from the company's account," said the manager.

Following a visit to the bank, the man said he was informed that his driver cashed two cheques – "a Dh500,000 cheque and a Dh440,000 cheque." The man said he didn't know how the driver obtained the cheques, but he assumed the driver stole them when he collected the laptop. 

The manager reported the incident to police, who said they believed the Pakistani driver, 27, had forged the manager's signature on the cheques before cashing them.

The driver hadn't returned to the country, but was referred in his absence to the Dubai Criminal Court on charges of stealing cheques from his employer, fraudulently obtaining Dh940,000, forgery and the use of forged unofficial documents.

A verdict will be issued in his absence on March 29.