DUBAI // There will be a retrial for a 31-year-old German woman accused of threatening to ruin a man’s life unless he paid her Dh3 million after an appeals court ruling.
Prosecutors said in records that N P had been threatening to wreck the lives of Iranian company manager F M, 48, and his family since September last year after he sacked her as his personal assistant. She even called the man’s wife and accused him of sexual assault, it is alleged.
The Iranian told prosecutors that the woman claimed to have qualifications and BA degrees.
“I asked for her degrees but she kept stalling, then she started making problems with other employees and I saw her several times going through my personal laptop,” he said. After warning her several times, he suspended her and then fired her.
On September 3 last year he said he received a phone call from her asking him to pay her compensation of €500,000 (Dh1.95m) because she said he fired her without a valid reason.
“She threatened that if I didn’t pay her she would give away work secrets to my competitors,” said the Iranian, who added that she kept calling him and then started to demand that he pay her Dh3m or else she would ruin his and his family’s lives.
“She told me that she promised her family to return to Germany rich but because I fired her, she would go back empty-handed, therefore she wanted me to pay her that amount.”
F M said that the woman then called his wife and children and attempted to smear his reputation by saying that he tried to sexually assault her.
He said he tried to ignore her but when she even started calling his friends and company employees, he reported her to police, especially as she had also taken his laptop and two iPhones from the company.
Dubai Criminal Court referred the woman’s case to the Court of Misdemeanours in March.
The Court of Appeal gave no reason for the retrial. It will be held at the appeals court but no date has yet been set.
tzriqat@thenational.ae
