Broker ‘fixes’ fake insurance for new BMW

It took a traffic accident for a motorist to discover that his car insurance was a forgery, despite the same being arranged from a registered broker.

On December 14, 2009, Juma Khalifa Obaid, 34, an Emirati bank director, visited the Arabian Gulf Mechanical Centre to buy a BMW.

The car salesman, Mohammed Abu Salah, offered to put Obaid in touch with an insurance broker, after Obaid found the insurance rate offered by the showroom too high.

Enter the accused, BTF, who offered to insure’s Obaid’s BMW for Dh9,300, according to the prosecution.

The deal was done and the following day an insurance document issued by Mithaq Lil Takaful Insurance was processed along with the car’s registration by the RTA.

Obaid collected his car, along with the registration card which bore the name of the insurance company.

On January 28, 2010, Obaid met with a traffic accident and the damages to his car were estimated at Dh25,000.

He called Mithaq Lil Takaful Insurance to process the repairs, but was shocked when he was told that his car was not insured with the company.

On presenting the policy to the company, he found out that it belonged to another car.

A Mr Ziyad and Mr Jasm from the insurance company then met with Obaid to enquire about how the document came into his possession.

This led them to BTF, who told the insurance company that he would bring the documents to prove that Obaid’s car was genuinely insured.

Later, BTF called Obaid and told him to collect his car from the agency without repair, after which BTF would get a new insurance policy issued.

He would also arrange a mock accident before the police to explain the damage.

Obaid refused and went to the police.

BTF, meanwhile, had approached another insurance salesman, Mohammed Abu Saleh, 28, and asked for help in getting another policy.

“I refused to cooperate with him and told him that I have nothing to do with that and the whole matter is his responsibility,” Saleh testified before the court.

Saleh also testified that BTF denied having anything to do with Obaid’s insurance policy and said he was just offering a solution.

Next on the witness stand was Shiria Bashir, 50, a salesman at Sun Insurance Broker.

He testified that he got a call from BTF asking him to tear an insurance policy that BTF had handed over to him.

This may have been where Obaid’s policy was registered. This is still unclear. Bashir also refused.

BTF then approached Ziyad Al Najjar, 39, at Mithaq Lil Takaful Insurance.

Najjar testified that BTF called him and offered to solve the problem by getting Bashir to issue a new insurance policy which he would pay for. Ziyad refused.

Dubai Police Forensics and Criminal Evidence confirmed that the insurance policy is forged.

The Public Prosecution accused BTF of forging a car insurance policy, submitting the same to the RTA for registration and pocketing Dh9,300, the value of the insurance.

BTF, 26, denied all accusations. The court adjourned the case until October 7.