Ministry's inspector offered bribe of Dh30,000

An Indian businessman allegedly offered an inspector at the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs a bribe of Dh30,000 against removing four companies from the ministry’s blacklist.

FA, 35, owned four companies and when he sold one of them, the buyers froze the agreed upon Dh100,000 until he got the company’s name removed from the labour ministry’s blacklist.

FA allegedly offered the ministry’s inspector SA, 29, Emirati, a bribe of Dh30,000 against lifting the names of the four companies he owned from the black list.

On September 3 at around 5.30pm, SA received a call from a number that he did not know. “The caller was a regular dealer with the ministry. On the phone, he sought lifting of the ban on a company against a bribe of Dh20,000. I pretended to agree and informed my senior who asked me to carry on with the accused until informing the police. My senior also suggested that I should increase the amount to show seriousness in lifting the ban,” SA testified.

SA sent an SMS to FA asking him to supply him with the number of the company’s card and the latter replied instantly. Checking the company’s record at the ministry, it was found out that it had been banned since 2011 for not having contracts with clients and that the company used to be closed from time to time and its name had been changed through the Economic Affairs Department and this change was not processed with the ministry.

The ministry’s inspector informed FA of all these violations and asked him to increase the bribe to Dh30,000. FA accepted to increase the amount if the inspector removed from the blacklist three other companies owned by him.

Checking on the other three companies, the inspector found out a number of violations as well.

In coordination with the police, the inspector and his senior prepared bogus documents for lifting the four companies from the blacklist. The two set a handing over meeting at the ministry’s premises.

The inspector pretended lifting the first company from the blacklist and so FA paid the inspector Dh9,000, saying that the remaining amount will be paid very soon.

Police raided the place and arrested FA with the bogus documents in his hand.