Dubai court orders woman to repay AED 2.298 million obtained through fraud and deception

Dubai: The Dubai Civil Court ordered a woman to repay AED 2.298 million to a man after it was established that she had received the money to purchase a residential unit for him and register it in his name, but instead obtained the funds through fraud and deception. She was also sentenced to three months in prison and fined an amount equal to the money misappropriated. The defendant maintained before the civil court that the money represented financial entitlements, including salaries, commissions and incentives for work she had carried out for the plaintiff. However, the court decided the case on the basis of the documents and judicial rulings before it. According to the lawsuit, the plaintiff transferred AED 2.298 million to the defendant for the purpose of purchasing a residential apartment for him and registering it in his name. He alleged that she deceived him, seized the money and used it for her own benefit. The Criminal Court initially acquitted the defendant of the charges. The plaintiff appealed, and the Criminal Court of Appeal overturned the acquittal, sentencing her to three months in prison, imposing a fine equal to the amount seized and ordering her deportation from the country. The defendant challenged the appeal judgment before the Court of Cassation, which rejected her appeal. The criminal judgment therefore became final and binding, forming the legal basis for the plaintiff's civil lawsuit seeking repayment of the money and legal interest. During the civil proceedings, the defendant requested the appointment of an accounting expert to examine the transfers received in her bank account and determine their sources, dates and purposes. She also asked the expert to calculate what she claimed were her financial entitlements, including salaries, commissions, incentives and allowances for work carried out for the plaintiff and establishments associated with him, and to conduct an accounting settlement to establish the final balance between the parties. The defendant also maintained that a customary marriage relationship existed between the parties and requested that witnesses be heard to establish this. However, the court decided the case on the basis of the documents and judicial rulings before it. The court explained that a final criminal judgment is binding on civil courts in matters it has determined, including whether the act constituting the crime occurred, its legal characterisation, its attribution to the perpetrator and the amount of money misappropriated. A civil court cannot reconsider those matters in a way that contradicts the final criminal judgment. The court concluded that the defendant had misappropriated AED 2.298 million and had provided no evidence showing that she had repaid the money or otherwise discharged the debt. It therefore found that the plaintiff's claim was supported by fact and law and ordered the defendant to repay AED 2.298 million, together with legal interest of 5 per cent per year from the date of the legal claim until full payment. She was also ordered to pay court fees, expenses and lawyers' fees.