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PRO collected Dh920,000 for stamping visas in Dubai

Dubai - The officer allegedly abused her post at a branch of the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs to process the forged visa applications with the forged documents

A typing centre owner, (also a computer operator) is accused of forging 90 tenancy contract registration certificates and 127 visa applications by falsifying applicants' details.
The Indian, 40, then allegedly handed over the forged documents through his compatriot friend, S.B. (also computer operator, 31) to an Emirati PRO, 46, who allegedly submitted them to a residency officer, 42. He is on trial over charges of forgery and offering bribes worth Dh920,000.
The case dates back to May 18, last year in Al Qusais, and about three months prior to that.
The officer allegedly abused her post at a branch of the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs to process the forged visa applications with the forged documents. She allegedly issued 127 such visas (including 113 family visas), and stamped the residence visa on four passports in such applications. She is believed to have collected Dh9,000 for her unlawful favours and is being charged in the Court of First Instance with forgery and intentionally causing damage to the interest of a public entity for financial gains.
The PRO is accused of soliciting and collecting Dh920,000 worth of bribes.
"A officer at the Preventive Security Department received information that the PRO, who represents different companies was submitting visa applications on behalf of Asian people who did not meet the conditions required for obtaining family visas," said an officer at the GDRFA.
"The information was that she (the PRO) was submitting applications that lacked necessary documents on a daily basis to an officer at the residency department. We learnt also that the PRO's sister is a residency employee at the branch."
By verifying the processed family visas that the officer on trial allegedly processed, in the system, it was known that the sponsors fell in ineligible categories due to their occupations. "No spare documents of the original copies were kept for those applications to be used as archives."
The two women were confronted by the officers of the Preventive Security Department on May 18 in the branch.
The PRO admitted that she was submitting applications on behalf of individuals who did not work at the companies she was representing. She claimed the Dh900,000, she collected earlier from the typing centre owner, was spent on her house maintenance.
A sum of Dh20,000 was seized from the PRO after she collected it from the Indian accused when they met in Abu Hail. The latter was arrested as he went to receive some visas from her.
mary@khaleejtimes.com