A businessman who gave his wife a cheque for Dh5 million but ordered the bank not to cash it then reported the cheque as stolen was sentenced to a one-year suspended prison term by Dubai Family Court.
On November 20, 2016, the 75-year-old Emirati businessman, reported two cheques as missing to Al Muraqqabat Police Station.
He told police that the bank called him earlier and told him a 38-year-old Syrian woman, who worked for him as a public relations manager, was attempting to cash a Dh5m cheque in his name.
"Due to the nature of his work, he often left a number of signed blank cheques to be used when needed," his lawyer said in a statement submitted to Dubai prosecution.
The man's lawyer said the woman had fraudulently obtained the cheque and filled it out with the amount before attempting to cash it.
However, the report did not mention that the woman is the businessman's wife of eight years, the woman's lawyer said.
During prosecution investigations, the woman's lawyer said the cheque was given to his client by her husband to buy a real estate unit outside the country.
The lawyer said one of the cheques the husband reported as missing had been issued by the Emirati to a company in Dubai Festival City and had been cashed in March 2014. The lawyer submitted documents to prove this statement.
He said problems between his client and her husband began when she showed interest in having a child when the businessman did not want one.
"So when she was at the bank, his account manager called him to tell him she was cashing the cheque. He ordered him to stall her from 12 to 3pm during which time, he reported the cheque missing and didn't even say that the woman was his wife, he didn't admit to that even during prosecution investigations, but we have a copy of the marriage contract and we proved the marital relationship to prosecutors," the Emirati lawyer said.
The husband was accused of issuing a cheque with bad intent to his wife and was referred to The Family Court where he was convicted and sentenced a one-year suspended prison term.
The wife is now filing a civil case against her husband.