The Dubai Court of First Instance heard the case of a 34-year-old man in Dubai who has been accused of embezzling travellers’ VAT refund.
The defendant, a Filipino clerk who used to work at a tax refunding company at Terminal 3 of the Dubai International Airport, allegedly committed financial irregularities and stole Dh69,311 worth of VAT refund, local media reported
The man reportedly was given access to the company’s e-system and asked to process the VAT refund of the tourists who would like to claim it.
He, however, allegedly tampered with the electronic data by saving the claimant’s personal details and indicating that they have refunded the money by cash. In reality, he would later deposit it in credit cards that did not belong to the claimants.
The general manager of the company said they discovered the embezzlement when one tourist complained to them that his VAT refund was not deposited in his credit card.
He said there were also some travellers who had requested to get their money back in cash but failed because they did not want to miss their flights.
The general manager also said that the defendant changed the payment mode in the system such that it will be done only by credit card transaction.
The Filipino clerk was charged with embezzlement and e-forgery but he denied them before the court.
The clerk will be sentenced on June 24
