Picture used for illustrative purpose only.

Hamza M. Sengendo, Staff Reporter

A bank manager teamed up with an investor’s assistant to drain Dhs17,520,794 from the investor’s account, a jury heard on Sunday.

The Asian manager, 39, was in charge of contacting the bank’s high-caliber clients, managing their accounts and convincing and helping them boost investments, prosecutors explained to the Dubai Criminal Court’s jury.

He teamed up with an Arab official, 46, working at one of the companies of a Jordanian investor, 58. They counterfeited a bank account application form that they attributed to the victim by faking contact details.

The manager filled in the official’s phone number and email address and termed them as “preferred.”

He submitted them to an unsuspecting employee at the bank. They then activated internet banking services.

They started draining money from the investor’s account to the official’s account from 2015.

The official later stole Dhs40,000 from his workplace.

When the investor decided to check his accounts, he discovered the fraud.

“No. I did not take part in the bank fraud,” argued official.

The manager also denied all charges.

Their lawyers asked for time to listen to witnesses.

Judge Muhammad Jamaal Kaamil adjourned the hearing till Oct.1.

The investor said he took long to discover the fraud because he had several accounts in different banks. He was busy. He also never received any alert since the official’s phone and email were termed as his preferred ones.

However, once the official snatched money from his workplace’s safe, he decided to check on the money in all his bank accounts. “I discovered the official had wired money from my account to his,” the investor complained.

“The official impersonated me. He counterfeited an application to open up a bank account with the help of the bank manager.

He activated online banking services and provided necessary data since knew my personal details.

“The manager aided him by approving the application since he was managing my account. I had not granted the official any powers concerning my accounts. However, he and the manager conducted 55 money transfer transactions from my account.”