UAE- PRO accused of offering bribe to residency officer

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times)A public relations officer (PRO) offered bribes to an officer of the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) on different occasions for processing visa applications that did not meet the legal conditions a Dubai court has heard.

In the Court of First Instance on Monday the 32-year-old Indian PRO was charged with bribery.

According to prosecution records the PRO offered Dh100 to the officer on every application he submitted on behalf of companies he did not work for.

He also allegedly offered the officer Dh1000 for every family visa he would process on applications that did have a tenancy contract or employment contract or when the sponsor fell under categories that does not allow him to sponsor family members.

The officer did not accept the bribes but made the PRO believe he would process the illegal applications. He helped arrest the defendant on March 9 after the latter was caught red-handed paying him Dh2500.

The officer said in the investigation that the PRO approached him when he was on duty on March 2. After making the PRO believe that he had accepted the bribe he informed the Preventive Security Department.