DUBAI // A Turkish woman who made off with diamonds worth more than Dh6 million was jailed for a year for embezzlement.
The Dubai Court of Misdemeanours heard that the defendant, A Q, 29, worked at the Turkey office of a Dubai-based diamond dealership.
The manager of the company, M A, 42, from India, testified that she had arrived in Dubai on September 4 claiming she had lined up customers in her home country to buy precious stones worth Dh6.3m.
“As it would take 10 to 15 days to ship them, she asked for the diamonds herself. Being an employee of the company, we gave them to her,” M A said.
Soon after she had left the UAE, she called from Turkey to say she needed to travel to the US.
“We arranged with her for an employee of the Dubai office to fly to Turkey to retrieve the diamonds, but she told him that the diamonds were with a customer,” M A said.
“She directed him to his location but when he went there he was given an empty box.”
The defendant left for the US and failed to return any calls.
Upon her return, she claimed to M A that the diamonds were actually in the safe at the Turkey office. She said she could not retrieve them because the keys were not working.
“When we finally managed to open the safe it was empty,” said the manager, who then reported her to police.
A Q was arrested at Dubai International Airport while trying to board an aircraft to Turkey.
During prosecution interrogations, she denied she had ever been given the diamonds in Dubai.
She said the precious stones had been shipped from Dubai to Turkey and back again.
“I can’t sell them in Turkey because there is a 43 per cent tax on every diamond sale. So my job is to market the diamonds in Turkey and get buyers,” she said.
“That’s what I did, then afterwards I returned the diamonds to Dubai the same way I received them, through shipping.”
She said she showed the diamonds to two potential clients in Turkey, who came to Dubai and bought the diamonds.
“I don’t know why I’m being held responsible for it,” she said.
She will be deported after completing her jail term.
salamir@thenational.ae
