A former Abu Dhabi government worker has been ordered to pay more than AED600 million ($163.36m) fine for embezzling public funds after she failed in her bid to have the penalty overturned, it was reported.
The woman was in 2011 found guilty of stealing from her employer, the Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority (ADWEA), after it was found she had awarded AED297m in contracts to her own private insurance brokering firm in exchange for bribes over 10 years, according to a report in 7Days.
She was convicted of embezzlement, forgery and abusing her position to acquire illicit profits and ordered to repay the money as well as a fine of the same amount.
A number of other people, including a Jordanian man who worked under the woman at both ADWEA and the private company, were also convicted of embezzlement, the report said.
The woman had denied the charges with her lawyer reportedly claiming she was being punished for not going along with a fraud scheme to approve illegitimate health insurance receipts.
She appealed to the Abu Dhabi Appeal Court, which has upheld the original verdict and sentence, 7Days reported.
Follow us on
