Seventeen people in Dubai have been accused of carrying out a AED22 million heist in what could be the UAE's largest bank embezzlement scheme to date. Among the accused are two GCC nationals, one Arab, and 14 Asians, according to Khaleej Times.
The bank in question had received a notification from one of their clients who was travelling abroad, about a number of transactions that he had not authorised. When the bank sent him the signed documents, he confirmed that his signature had been forged.
Upon this discovery, the bank launched an investigation and unearthed several other fraudulent transactions in the same manner. The crime took place over a seven-month period, from April to October of 2016.
Twelve bank accounts were targeted, whereby the fraudsters forged the original account owner's Emirates ID cards to transfer money to one of the accused's bank account. The person then withdrew the money via cheques. Ten of the accused are still at large.
The seven remaining individuals were employees at the bank in question. They assisted the fugitives by deliberately neglecting to verify the documents submitted for their approval to access the victims' accounts. The court adjourned the case to January 17.