UAE: Director of private firm fakes employment of over 40 Emiratis; public prosecution orders imprisonment

The director of a private company in the UAE has been charged for faking the employment of over 40 citizens, with the Public Prosecution demanding his imprisonment.

This comes after the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (Mohre) alerted the UAE Attorney-General to the bogus hirings.

An investigation confirmed that the director had hired over 40 Emiratis in a "fictitious manner" in an attempt to cash in on the benefits and financial support that the UAE Government is offering as part of its Emiratisation programme.

With the help of some of his employees, he was found to have forged electronic documents and issued fictitious work contracts, falsely stating that his company had hired citizens.

A few weeks ago, a similar case of fake employment was exposed as Mohre intensified its inspections. Administrative action was initiated against an Emirati employer who appointed 43 family members to inflate Emiratisation rates and benefit from the Nafis scheme. Some companies were also issued warnings for reducing the salaries of Emirati job-seekers, saying that these citizens would be entitled to cash support anyway.

If fake Emiratisation is proven, administrative penalties and fines against companies that try to exploit the Nafis scheme reach up to Dh100,000 for every citizen.

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