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29 March 2024

Car salesmen 'clean out' owner while he is in jail

Published
By Eman Al Baik

Three men allegedly sold, using forged documents, cars valued at about Dh4 million belonging to their employer while he was serving a jail term.

The Dubai Criminal Court heard a case where WMF, 27, Syrian, AHS, 28, Omani, and MMA declared a fugitive, are accused of forging the registration and transfer documents of at least three cars owned by Ziad Mahmoud Mahfouz.

WMF and the fugitive MMA are also accused of stealing Dh524,500 in cash, two signed blank cheques and three cheque books.

In addition, they also made copies of 18 car keys that were in their custody.

The victim Mahfouz, 54, Syrian, testified that he is a partner in Al Diaa Trading for the past 10 years and his company deals in cars.

The first accused and the fugitive work for the company as sales representatives.

On May 24, 2009 he was arrested in a bounced cheque case and was convicted.

“While I was in jail, I was following up the business with the two representatives who used to tell me that everything is good except for the car sales. There were 33 cars in the showroom in Al Awir.

“In October 2009 I learnt from other companies in the area that most of the cars have been sold and only five cars were left. I asked my lawyer to check it out and to collect documents and keys from them. The accused asked the lawyer to come the next day to take the required documents.

"A Bangladeshi office boy told the lawyer that at night and after he left, the accused loaded all cars and transported them to another location. I asked the lawyer to log a complaint with the police.

“The lawyer then met with the accused and they promised to return the cars if I divorced the second accused's sister - who is my wife - and to issue a letter to the attorney granting my son's custody to his sister. I divorced her but failed to make the letter.

“Later I discovered that the second accused fled the country and that he sold 26 cars valued Dh3.8m to various countries, including Japan, where his cousin stays,” testified Mahfouz.
On February 16, 2010, the victim was released from jail.

The office boy Tarequrrahman Abdulrahman, 22, testified that he saw the two accused transporting 25 cars from the showroom. “They asked me not to tell anyone,” he testified.

Khalid Mashour, 42, Jordanian, investor, testified that he works for a car transport company and that the two accused asked him to transport cars from the showroom owned by the victim while he was in jail.

“I transported 20 cars of different models from May 30, 2009 to October 20, 2009,” he testified.

WMF confessed before the prosecution of that he transferred to his name six cars and sold them.

AHS, also confessed to forging the signature of the victim on documents related to registration and transfer of 3 cars.

The case has been adjourned till November 30.