Abu Dhabi court orders restaurant manager to return embezzled money

Abu Dhabi: The Abu Dhabi Family and Civil Administrative Court has ordered a former restaurant manager to return Dh57,976, which he had embezzled from the restaurant’s revenue.

The court also imposed Dh5,000 as compensation for the financial damages caused to the restaurant.

According to the case details, a restaurant company filed a case against its former manager, demanding that he repay Dh57,976 and compensate the company with Dh50,000 for financial and moral damages.

A forensic accounting report submitted to the court revealed that the defendant had embezzled Dh57,976. He was also criminally convicted of embezzlement and breach of trust.

The court explained that the ruling was based on the forensic report, which demonstrated that the defendant had withdrawn funds from the restaurant’s bank account using a bank card issued to him due to his position. While he spent Dh818,424 from the total withdrawn amount of Dh876,345 on the restaurant’s expenses, there was no documentation to justify the remaining Dh57,976.
Regarding the claim for material and moral compensation, the court noted that the defendant’s unlawful actions, specifically the embezzlement of funds, had caused harm to the plaintiff. The material damage included financial losses, while the moral damage involved distress and emotional suffering. Since these damages were directly caused by the defendant’s wrongful conduct, the court held him legally liable.