Abu Dhabi court orders assistant to repay Dh230,000 embezzled from investor

Abu Dhabi: The Abu Dhabi Family, Civil and Administrative Court has ordered an investor's former assistant to repay Dh230,000 that he was convicted of embezzling, in addition to Dh15,000 in compensation for material and moral damages suffered by the investor. The court also directed the defendant to return a disputed vehicle to the plaintiff or pay its value of Dh20,000 if the vehicle cannot be handed over. According to court records, the investor filed a civil lawsuit seeking recovery of the Dh230,000 established in a final criminal judgment, together with interest, compensation of Dh50,000 for material and moral damages, and the return of several items allegedly in the defendant's possession, including a vehicle, laptop, apartment key, safe and original documents. The investor stated that he had instructed his assistant to collect a cheque from a company and deposit the funds into his account. Instead, the assistant allegedly appropriated the money for himself. The plaintiff said the matter led to a criminal case in which the defendant was convicted of embezzlement and sentenced to six months' imprisonment, suspended, in addition to a deportation order. Criminal conviction established liability In its ruling, the court noted that the final criminal judgment conclusively established that the defendant had unlawfully seized the plaintiff's money amounting to Dh230,000. The court said that because the criminal conviction had become final, it constituted binding proof before the civil court regarding the occurrence of the act, its legal description and its attribution to the defendant. Accordingly, the court ordered the assistant to repay the full amount embezzled. Compensation awarded The court further found that the defendant's actions caused both material and moral harm to the investor, including the loss of use of the money that had been misappropriated. As a result, it awarded the plaintiff Dh15,000 in compensation for all damages suffered. Vehicle to be returned With regard to the disputed vehicle, the court ordered the defendant to hand it over to the plaintiff or, if delivery is not possible, pay its value of Dh20,000. The court relied on a signed declaration dated July 6, 2019, in which the defendant acknowledged receiving the vehicle and agreed to transfer its registration to the plaintiff upon request. However, the court rejected the plaintiff's demands regarding the laptop, apartment key, safe and original documents, ruling that those claims lacked sufficient clarity and specificity to establish the exact nature of the obligations sought. The court ultimately ordered the defendant to pay Dh230,000, Dh15,000 in compensation, return the vehicle or pay its value, and bear court fees, expenses and Dh200 in legal costs, while dismissing all other claims.