Dubai: A residency officer has been jailed for three years for accepting Dh30,000 in bribes from two persons to issue nine exit permits for illegal residents and not collecting Dh445,000 fines for pending violations.
The Emirati defendant, who worked as a sergeant at the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA), had abused his job and accepted bribes from the two persons a 35-year-old Bangladeshi businessmen and his countryman public relations officer (PRO) in December 2015.
On Sunday, the Dubai Court of First Instance convicted the Emirati defendant of abusing his job at GDRFA, requesting Dh30,000 in bribes to access the e-system and issue exit permits to nine illegal residents.
He was also convicted of deliberately causing a loss in public funds (GDRFA money) worth Dh445,000, the total of unpaid residency violations that had been committed by the nine illegal residents.
Records said the nine illegal residents, four Bangladeshi, three Pakistanis and two Indians, remain at large.
Presiding judge Mohammad Jamal ordered the Emirati defendant to repay Dh445,000 to GDRFA and also fined him Dh445,000 that he has to jointly pay along with the Bangladeshi duo.
According to Sunday’s ruling, presiding judge Jamal jailed the Bangladeshi businessman and the PRO for one year each.
The two Bangladeshi defendants were convicted of offering bribes to the Emirati and mediating between him and nine illegal residents to issue them exit permits although they had been required to pay pending GDRFA violations.
The Bangladeshi businessman was fined Dh500,000 and handed a joint fine of Dh40,600 with the Emirati.
The Bangladeshi PRO was also fined Dh500,000 and ordered to jointly pay Dh48,000 along with the Emirati defendant.
According to the primary ruling, the Bangladeshi duo will be deported.
The nine illegal residents, who were accused of aiding and abetting, were tried in absentia.
Records said the Emirati defendant was tasked with different GDRFA transactions such as issuing travel permits, cancelling residency, removing travel bans based on absconding reports, collecting fines from illegal workers and residents, collecting fees for entering and exiting the country and carrying out the iris scan.
He was found guilty of misusing his authority, abusing the login credentials to access the GDRFA’s e-system to issue exit permits [to the illegal residents] without collecting the pending fines.
Sunday’s ruling remains subject to appeal within 15 days.
