A Dubai court has ordered two men to jointly repay Dh723,500 after they were convicted of impersonating officials of the Federal Tax Authority and defrauding a company through forged documents.
The ruling by the Dubai Court of First Instance also imposed annual legal interest of 5% on the amount until full payment is made, in addition to court fees and legal costs.
According to court records, the defendants falsely presented themselves as tax authority employees and provided forged documents claiming that the company’s tax liabilities had been reduced or cleared through official procedures.
Believing the representations were legitimate, the company’s manager transferred Dh723,500 to the suspects.
Investigators later found that the defendants used forged government seals, a counterfeit Federal Tax Authority stamp, and falsified signatures. Authorities also discovered that they had submitted fraudulent tax filings in an apparent attempt to erase the company’s outstanding tax obligations.
In a related criminal case, the defendants were convicted of fraud, forgery, and use of forged documents. They were sentenced to six months in prison, fined Dh723,500 jointly, ordered to surrender the forged documents, and will be deported after serving their sentences.
The convictions were upheld by both the Court of Appeal and the Court of Cassation, making the ruling final.
The company also sought Dh12 million in damages, alleging significant business losses and penalties resulting from the fraudulent scheme. However, the court dismissed the claim after finding insufficient evidence to establish the alleged losses and their direct connection to the defendants’ actions.
The court noted that an expert assessment could not proceed after the claimants failed to pay the required expert fees, leaving the damages claim unsupported.
The ruling effectively limits recovery to the amount fraudulently obtained by the defendants.
