Two employees steal 13.5 kg of gold from company in Dubai

Two sales employees at a gold trading company embezzled funds after being entrusted with selling 13,500 grammes of gold and remitting the proceeds. Instead, they abused this trust and misappropriated the money.

According to case files, the incident occurred between September 2022 and July 2023. The Dubai Criminal Court convicted the two employees, sentencing them to one year in prison and ordering them to jointly repay the value of the embezzled amount.

The Court of Appeal upheld the ruling. The plaintiff company later filed a civil case, in which the court ordered the defendants to jointly pay Dhs1,426,273, along with 5% interest from the date the judgment became final until full payment, in addition to fees, expenses, and legal costs. All other claims were dismissed.

The company had initially demanded Dhs1,569,092, stating that the defendants had received 13,500 grammes of 24-carat gold valued at Dhs1,976,273 to sell and return the proceeds, but instead misappropriated the funds.

Case documents confirmed that the embezzled amount matched what was established in the criminal judgment.

The company also alleged that the defendants had purchased 527.510 grammes of 22-carat gold from a jewellery firm on credit, worth Dhs142,819, and registered the transaction under the company’s name, thereby incurring unjustified debt.

However, the court found insufficient evidence to support this claim, citing a lack of documentation proving the transaction was registered in the company’s name or that it had borne the cost. The claim was therefore rejected.

During civil proceedings, one of the defendants appeared in custody and denied responsibility, claiming the other defendant was solely responsible.

The court ruled that the elements of liability, damage, and causation were established. It assessed the financial damage based on the proven embezzled amount and ordered the defendants to repay it jointly.