The Ras Al Khaimah Court of First Instance sentenced the director of a company to prison and deportation from the country, and fined the company AED500,000 after they were convicted of defrauding a commercial company and seizing AED10,505,375.

The fraud involved misleading the victim company's representatives into believing that a shipment of 12,500 tonnes of refined white sugar was owned by the company and ready for supply. Documents and a video clip were submitted to support the claim. The court, however, acquitted a commercial broker of the same accusation after finding no evidence that he knew the shipment did not exist or that he was involved in the misappropriation of funds.

The court confirmed that the case went beyond a simple breach of commercial obligations or a delay in returning funds. It found that fraudulent methods had been used to induce the victim company to hand over money. The court stressed that the existence of contracts and commercial transactions does not eliminate the crime of fraud when such arrangements are used to deceive another party and obtain its money.

The case papers stated that the dispute began with a commercial agreement between two companies to purchase a shipment of 12,500 metric tonnes of refined white sugar, valued at a total of $6,312,500. Under the agreement, the purchasing company was required to pay 20% of the transaction value in advance, with the remaining amount to be paid upon confirmation that the shipment had been loaded.

Based on the agreement, the purchasing company transferred $1,262,500 to the account of the selling company after receiving assurances that the shipment existed and was ready for supply. These assurances were supported by documents and a video clip presented as proof.

The case papers also included an acknowledgement issued by the selling company confirming receipt of $600,000. Financial dealings between the two parties continued, and a separate agreement related to the financing of a bank credit facility was later concluded.

The defrauded company transferred an additional $1 million, equivalent to about AED3.67 million, to the account of the accused company to finance a bank credit facility. The amount was to be returned within 48 hours, but it was not repaid, and the intended purpose of the funds was never substantiated.

According to the defence memorandum, the agreement between the two companies provided for the purchasing company to contribute towards the costs of issuing a standby bank letter of credit. In return, it was to receive a refund of the amount paid, along with an expected profit of $500,000, bringing the total expected return to $1.5 million. The company, however, did not recover its money.

In its judgment the court stated that the manager of the accused company deceived representatives of the purchasing company regarding the existence of the sugar shipment and its readiness for supply. He used documents and a video clip that led them to believe the information was genuine, before it was discovered that the agreed shipment did not exist.

The court noted that the manager not only obtained the amounts linked to the sugar deal, but also continued dealing with the victim company and secured an additional payment under the pretext that it would be used to finance a bank credit facility for a specific purpose and duration. No evidence was provided to prove that the facility had been issued or that the funds had been used as agreed.

The court considered that these events formed part of a single fraudulent scheme. It began with convincing the company of the existence of goods that did not exist, reinforcing the deception with documents and a video, and then obtaining further funds as part of the same business transaction.

It stressed that failure to fulfil a contractual obligation or a delay in refunding money is not, by itself, sufficient to constitute fraud. In this case, however, the court found that the payments were made as a direct result of deceptive methods that preceded the transfer of funds and induced the victim company to part with its money.

The accusations also extended to a commercial broker after the victim company reported that he had introduced its representatives to the manager of the selling company. It claimed that he assured them the shipment was present at one of the country's ports and showed them related documents, which increased their confidence in the transaction and prompted them to transfer funds.

After reviewing the case papers, documents and investigation findings, the court concluded that there was insufficient evidence to convict the broker. It stated that, while he introduced the victim company to the manager of the selling company and reassured it about the shipment and the documents presented, this alone was not enough to prove criminal involvement.

The court noted that there was no evidence that the broker received any of the disputed funds, contributed to the preparation of the documents or video used to support the false claims, or knew that the information he conveyed to the victim company was inaccurate.

It stressed that the fact that the broker's statements helped strengthen the company's confidence in the transaction was not sufficient to convict him, as there was no proof that he knowingly provided false information with the intention of assisting the first defendant in committing the offence.

The company director was convicted of fraud and misappropriation of funds, and was sentenced to one year in prison, deportation from the country and payment of the applicable fees.

It also ordered the company to pay a fine of AED500,000, holding it criminally liable for the actions committed by its representative in its name and on its behalf. The commercial broker was acquitted of all charges.