Ex-manager of a shipping firm embezzles over Dhs2.1m, Dubai court orders him to pay Dhs2.3m

The Criminal Court in Dubai convicted an accounts manager of embezzling over Dhs2.1 million from a shipping and logistics company by seizing collected amounts from clients and refraining from depositing them into the company's accounts.

The Appellate and Cassation Courts upheld the verdict, before the Civil Court in Dubai ordered him to pay Dhs2.3 million in compensation for material and moral damages, plus 5% interest until full payment.

The details of the case date back to an earlier time when a shipping and logistics company discovered irregularities in the company's financial collections, which prompted it to conduct an internal review and an extensive investigation into financial operations.

Investigations revealed that the accounts manager used to receive amounts of money from clients and then deposited smaller amounts or failed to deposit some of them into the company's accounts, appropriating them for himself.

Following this, the company filed a criminal complaint with the competent authorities and the Public Prosecution initiated investigations and charged the suspect with embezzling funds belonging to the company he worked for, exploiting his position, after it was found that he had seized Dhs2,107,250 from the company's funds.

The suspect was referred to the Criminal Court, where he was convicted and sentenced to three months in jail, fined him the amount he embezzled, deported him from the country, and referred the civil case to the competent court to claim compensation.

The suspect appealed the criminal judgment, but the Court of Appeal upheld the initial judgment, which became final and conclusive after all avenues of appeal were exhausted.

Subsequently, the company filed a civil lawsuit demanding that the appellee be ordered to pay Dhs2.5 million, including the value of the embezzled amounts, compensation for material and moral damages, and legal interest.

The company affirmed that the employee’s actions caused direct financial losses, harmed its reputation and commercial standing, and deprived it of investing the seized funds throughout the past years.

The court clarified that the embezzlement of funds caused material damages to the company, represented by the loss of the seized amounts and missed investment opportunities, in addition to moral and commercial damages affecting its reputation and credibility, as well as the expenses and legal procedures incurred to pursue the accused and recover its rights.

Therefore, the court ordered the appellee to pay Dhs2.3 million as comprehensive compensation for material and moral damages, with legal interest of 5% annually from the date the judgment became final until full payment, and also obligated him to pay court fees and expenses, and Dhs2,000 for legal fees.