DUBAI // A Roads and Transport Authority employee who issued licences to 180 people who had not passed their driving tests has been sentenced to six months in jail and fined Dh150,000.
The 36-year-old Emirati denied charges of forgery when he appeared in Dubai Criminal Court in February.
The forgeries were made in 2011 and were discovered when police contacted the RTA requesting them to check the licences belonging to eight drivers who had broken traffic laws.
“I checked the eight licences and discovered they were not genuine,” said an RTA official, adding that all eight were issued using the defendant’s account.
“Then I double checked all the licences he had issued and discovered that he issued 180 in the same way,”
He said the defendant would issue licences without asking for any official documents and without their owners passing a driving test.
It was not mentioned in court records whether the defendant took bribes in return for issuing the licences.
The court was told a driver who got his licence from the defendant had paid Dh17,000 to a Pakistani man but he did not mention knowing the Emirati.
The court’s verdict remains subject to appeal within 15 days.
salamir@thenational.ae
Types of fraud
Phishing: Fraudsters send an unsolicited email that appears to be from a financial institution or online retailer. The hoax email requests that you provide sensitive information, often by clicking on to a link leading to a fake website.
Smishing: The SMS equivalent of phishing. Fraudsters falsify the telephone number through “text spoofing,” so that it appears to be a genuine text from the bank.
Vishing: The telephone equivalent of phishing and smishing. Fraudsters may pose as bank staff, police or government officials. They may persuade the consumer to transfer money or divulge personal information.
SIM swap: Fraudsters duplicate the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorisation, allowing them to conduct financial transactions with your bank.
Identity theft: Someone illegally obtains your confidential information, through various ways, such as theft of your wallet, bank and utility bill statements, computer intrusion and social networks.
Prize scams: Fraudsters claiming to be authorised representatives from well-known organisations (such as Etisalat, du, Dubai Shopping Festival, Expo2020, Lulu Hypermarket etc) contact victims to tell them they have won a cash prize and request them to share confidential banking details to transfer the prize money.
* Nada El Sawy
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At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
