Dubai court obliges man to return Dhs4.4m to investor over breach of trust

Man embezzels gold, digital currencies worth Dhs4.4m, Dubai court orders him to 

The Dubai Misdemeanours Court convicted a man of breach of trust after he embezzled the value of 6 kilogrammes of gold and digital currencies from an investor, which the latter had given to him as a trustee.

The court sentenced the suspect to 3 years in jail, to be followed by deportation from the country and ordered the suspect the to pay the plaintiff the value of the embezzled items amounting to Dhs4.4 million.

The Court of Appeal upheld the verdict after rejecting the appeal due to the convict's failure to pay the insurance, making the judgment final.

According to the case details, an investor filed a lawsuit demanding a man to pay the value of items he had embezzled and to compensate him for the damages incurred in the amount of Dhs500,000.

The Dubai Civil Court ordered the appellee to return the amount of Dhs4.4 million, and compensate the plaintiff with Dhs300,000, in addition to legal interest, the case fees and costs and the lawyer’s fees.

The court explained that the final criminal judgment proved the appellee had committed the crime of breach of trust, after it was established that he embezzled funds belonging to the plaintiff, which made the charge established against him and may not be reconsidered before the civil court.

The court also affirmed that the criminal judgment proved the investor entrusted the appellee with the embezzled items and then seized them.

Consequently, the court obligated the appellee to pay Dhs4.4 million, the value of what he had embezzled, while refusing to reconsider the case after it was settled by the criminal judgment.

The court stated that the investor had incurred material and moral damages, including depriving him of benefitting from his money for more than two years, and missing investment opportunities, in addition to the burdens of following legal procedures to recover his rights, besides the psychological and moral damages.

Then the court estimated the compensatory damages at Dhs300,000, with a 5% legal interest from the date the judgment becomes final until full payment, in addition to the lawsuit fees, expenses, and lawyer’s fees.