UAE: Woman embezzles Dh21,500 from group saving scheme

An Al Ain resident who embezzled Dh21,500 from a women’s group saving scheme has been instructed to return the money.

The Al Ain Civil Court of First Instance ordered the Arab woman to pay back the Dh21,500 to her neighbour, who was the group leader, and in charge of treasuring the cash of behalf of other members.

The defendant was also told to pay another Dh2,000 in compensation for the damages.

The neighbour had filed a lawsuit against the woman demanding that she pay back the Dh21,500 she embezzled from the group’s savings. She also demanded Dh10,000 in compensation for the moral and material damages.

The plaintiff said the cash in question is owed by the defendant because she was part of the group savings scheme.

She said they had formed a group saving scheme constituting of six women. Each member contributed Dh5,000 monthly to the scheme. The total monthly savings of Dh30,000 was being given to one member and the scheme had to rotate for six months until everyone received.

The defendant was amongst the first members to receive the cash from the savings scheme. After her turn, she stopped contributing to the group for several months, despite having taken money that was saved by other members.

When asking her to return the money failed, the plaintiff, who was the leader of the group, filed a criminal complaint against her.

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