DUBAI // A man offered a Dh500,000 bribe to a Nakheel employee if he cancelled substantial fines imposed on his company, a court was told yesterday.
W M, 40, said that in May, Nakheel told a number of investors they would have to pay Dh11.5 million in late payments and fines.
The defendant, W Z, 32, was executive director of one of these companies. The fines imposed on his company alone were about Dh3.7m.
“A few days after the meeting, the defendant called and asked that we meet, so when I did, he offered me Dh200,000 in return for helping him to cancel the fines,” said W M, a sales executive at Nakheel.
W M said he refused and told the man, who is Iranian, that his offer was illegal. But when he informed the legal department at Nakheel, WM was asked to pretend to the defendant that he was considering his offer. In the meantime, the legal department informed the authorities.
After a month of negotiations with the defendant, W Z agreed to pay Dh500,00 if the Nakheel employee cancelled the fines.
Nakheel then prepared documents to show the fines had been cancelled. W M, who is Colombian, gave these to the defendant at a five-star hotel in Dubai on June 10.
“After seeing the documents he gave me Dh400,000 and said the remaining amount will be handed over once he ensures the validity of the documents,” W M said.
Police, who were waiting for W M’s signal, then arrested the defendant once the bag was opened and the money was found inside.
Policeman T A, 33, told the court that the phone conversations between the defendant and the sales executive were recorded and on the day of the arrest, W M was provided with a device that recorded the meeting.
At Dubai Criminal Court yesterday, the defendant offering the bribe said he only met W M to discuss his company’s papers.
Prosecutors said W Z is facing a charge of offering a bribe to a public employee.
The next hearing was set for December 18.
salamir@thenational.ae