In Abu Dhabi, 28 people were found guilty of embezzlement of more than US $ 170 million from a bank.
The Abu Dhabi Criminal Court on Wednesday found 28 people guilty of embezzlement of 635 million dirhams ($ US 172.8 million) from the Abu Dhabi bank and sentenced them to imprisonment for one to 15 years.
They were convicted of fraud and misappropriation of a large sum of money. The court ordered the convicts to pay 9 million dirhams ($ US 2.45 million), which so far could not be returned. The presiding judge also ordered them to pay another 635 million dirhams as a fine.
Last year, 33 people were arrested in this case, including Americans, Russians, Indians, Canadians and Pakistanis.
The accused were bank employees who transferred amounts from inactive customer accounts to fictitious accounts.
The court sentenced each of the eight main defendants to 15 years in prison, and 10 others received a 10-year prison term. Nine defendants who transferred money to their own accounts were each sentenced to seven years in prison, and another will spend a year in prison.
The court ordered the deportation of criminals from the country after the end of their terms of imprisonment and payment of fines.
The court acquitted the remaining five defendants after they were able to document that they did not participate in fraudulent activities.
