Trio jailed for trying to bribe a Dubai auditor

Three men who tried to bribe an auditor with Dh150,000 to submit a fake report for a real estate court case were sentenced to two years in prison.

In October, the Indian owner of a real estate company told two men — a 52-year-old Egyptian legal accountant and a Sudanese section head at the real estate company — to contact the assistant auditor and ask to meet him.

The Egyptian assistant auditor, 35, said that he and an Emirati auditor, registered with Dubai courts, were asked to prepare a report for an ongoing court case.

"I received a call from a legal accountant and he told me he had important documents required for the report and that he must deliver them to me," the assistant auditor said.
He told the caller that the documents had to be submitted through the auditing office but the man insisted they meet to discuss an important issue.
The assistant auditor told his boss about the calls and was advised to meet with the accountant and find out what he wanted.
When the two met, the legal accountant offered the Dh150,000 bribe in return for a report that would work in his employer's favour.
"He told me that he would ask the company's owner for Dh300,000 and that he would take half and give me the other half," said the claimant, who reported the incident to Al Muraqqabat police station.
The man then agreed to meet with the defendant to collect the first instalment of Dh50,000 but he was escorted by undercover police and wore a wire to record the transaction.
Police arrested the legal accountant.
During questioning, the accountant said the Sudanese defendant was the one who prepared the bribe money and both of them acted according to the company owner's orders.
The Sudanese man was arrested and he, along with the company owner who remains at large, were charged with offering a bribe. Both denied the charge in court last March.
All three men were sentenced to two years in jail each and were jointly fined Dh150,000.