'Banker takes bribe to buy 'unwanted' shares'

The stock investment head at a bank is standing trial on the charge of collecting Dh541,000 worth of a bribe in cash in return for buying 49,679,710 'unwanted' shares from companies in Pakistan.

The 37-year-old Pakistani allegedly accepted the bribe with the help of a compatriot businessman, 36, for buying the unwanted shares at Dh69.78 million in the case that dates back to between July 2015 and June 2016.

He has been charged in the Dubai Court of First Instance with collecting a bribe to breach his duties. The businessman is accused of aiding and abetting him in the crime.

A Pakistani legal consultant at the bank said the main defendant's duties included dealing in stocks in the name of the bank in the GCC and Pakistan but he abused his powers.

"On July 23, 2016, we noticed he bought shares of several companies from Pakistan stock market from July 2015 to June 2016. By checking the stocks he purchased, we found them to be not wanted in the market. He bought a total of 49,679,710 stocks on six occasions for Dh69,787,689."

The legal consultant added: "In October last year, we conducted an internal probe and questioned the stock dealer. He admitted in writing that he did wrong by conspiring with the businessman who promised to give him amounts of money as bribes whenever he bought the shares he selected."

Source: Khaleej Times