DUBAI // Two men sentenced to a year in jail for trying to steal their previous employer’s client and win a Dh50-million contract with him, had their sentence suspended by the Dubai Court of Appeal.
The pair, Indian, 49, and Nepali, 50, started their own company after which they sent emails with confidential information about their previous employer to his most important client in an attempt to win the client.
Prosecutors said that the defendants worked for a specialized support services company before they left and started their own company.
Between December 23, 2013 and February 9, 2014, the duo had been illegally accessing their previous employer’s electronic system and obtaining confidential information which included complaints then sent it to the employer’s most important client in an attempt to sabotage the company’s reputation.
49-year-old British company manager testified that on February, 2014, they received an email from one of their clients informing them that the client’s email address had been receiving multiple emails from an unknown source containing information that can be harmful to the company’s reputation.
“In these emails, the sender was asking the client to stop dealing with us, these emails were being sent for several months before we were informed about them,” said the manager who noted that the company started an investigation to track down the sender.
He added that the investigation revealed how the user names and passwords of the two defendants were used to log into the company’s system and obtain these information. Another user name and password of an employee at the company was also used but without his knowledge, noted the manager.
“But the two had left the company and started their own, and we suspected they sent these emails to our client to make us lose a Dh50-million contract with them,” he said.
Records show that some emails were obtained by prosecutors. Records show that some of the emails spoke badly about the company’s services and suggested other companies that can provide better services.
They denied a charge of illegally accessing the company’s electronic system and obtaining confidential information.
At Dubai Criminal Court, they were convicted and sentenced to a year in jail to be followed by deportation. They were also fined Dh500,000.
The pair appealed and had their jail term suspended but the fine and the deportation were upheld.
salamir@thenational.ae
