Man who embezzled Dh1.5m worth of gold in Dubai has verdict overturned

DUBAI // A man who was cleared of embezzling Dh1.5 million worth of gold has had his verdict overturned and will now spend a year in jail.

R S, 57, from Sudan, was found not guilty of taking 15.36kg of gold he was appointed to manage while a civil case between two gold-trading companies was heard.

On Wednesday, however, Dubai Court of Appeal ruled that he was guilty, and that he should return the gold and also pay a fine equivalent to its value, as well as serve time in prison.

R S was appointed by Dubai Civil Court in 2012 to look after the gold in return for Dh135,000, but was accused of abusing his position in February last year.

He denied the charge at Dubai Criminal Court in June.

An Emirati lawyer representing one of the gold-trading companies in the dispute said it was only discovered that R S had embezzled the gold when his client won a court order to obtain it. The man first appointed to take care of the gold in 2009, when the civil case started, testified that he handed it over to R S because he needed his passport back to renew his visa.

People assigned by the courts to look after items in cases such as these have their passports seized.

Prosecutors appealed against the court’s decision to acquit the man, and on Wednesday morning the Appeal Court agreed with their arguments.

R S was also ordered to pay Dh21,000 in temporary compensation to the company that owned the gold and will be deported after completing his jail term.