Dubai Courts expert faces bribery charge

An expert and an arbitrator at Dubai Courts allegedly solicited and took Dh40,000 as bribe from a customer to prepare a technical report in his favour in a civil lawsuit, Khaleej Times reported on Thursday.

The Egyptian arbitrator’s case was heard by the Court of First Instance on Wednesday. He is charged with bribery.

According to the arraignment sheet of the Public Prosecution, the defendant solicited and accepted the bribe to do a service that did not go in line with his duties.

The complainant is a German business investor. He told prosecutors that a compatriot businessman had filed a lawsuit against him seeking damages for losses he (the compatriot) incurred in his business.

“I helped my compatriot by referring my customers to his engineering consultancy company. I heard one of them did not pay him and he put the blame on me,” he said.

In the civil lawsuit, the compatriot was seeking Dh5 million in damages from the complainant. The complainant won the case in the Court of First Instance but the businessman filed an appeal. The Real Estate Appeal Court appointed the defendant as an expert in the case.

Later, the defendant called up the legal consultant of the complainant, a Romanian woman. According to her claims, the Egyptian asked for Dh40,000 to prepare a technical report in favour of the complainant’s company, to be used in the lawsuit. The woman added: “He also said we should pay Dh2.5 million to the other party.”

The complainant went to the police and they set up a trap for the defendant. The complainant’s legal consultant met the defendant on November 24 last year.

An envelope, said to contain Dh40,000 belonging to the Dubai Police, was handed over to her. The police also equipped her with a tape recorder to record the conversation.

On collecting the money, the defendant promised to draw up a report in her client’s favour. He also said he would reduce the amount they should pay to the other party to Dh1.5m, pointing out that 50 per cent of the money thus spared should go to him.

Police arrested the defendant after that meeting.

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.