Dubai authorities have sentenced three men to prison and subsequent deportation following a gold heist amounting to over Dh800,000 from a local jewellery company. According to a Khaleej Times report, the Dubai Criminal Court convicted two Egyptian nationals, aged 47 and 41, along with an Indian national, aged 35, for their roles in the embezzlement scheme.
The first and second defendants were found guilty of orchestrating the crime on September 28, 2023, in Dubai’s Naif area. They exploited their positions within the company by establishing a secret goldsmith workshop and employing 10 workers without the company’s knowledge, paying their salaries from the company’s funds through fraudulent agreements and significantly inflating their own salaries.
The third defendant, who remains at large, was found to have received Dh236,823, fully aware that it was obtained through illegal means. He fled the country after securing a loan of over Dh1.5 million.
The scheme unraveled in May 2023 when suspicious activities, such as the purchase of gold at inflated prices, were reported by workers to one of the jewellery company’s partners. An internal investigation led to the discovery of the unauthorized workshop and further fraudulent activities. A forensic accounting report confirmed the extent of the embezzlement.
The court sentenced the first and second defendants to three months in prison, fined them Dh824,604.17 jointly, and ordered their deportation after serving their sentences. The third defendant was sentenced in absentia to one month in prison and fined Dh236,823, with deportation to follow upon his arrest.