UAE Court Clears Woman Of Embezzlement After Doubts Over Whatsapp Evidence

An Ajman appeal court has found an Egyptian woman not guilty of embezzlement after finding that the complainant's account was inconsistent and there was no reliable evidence that he had handed her any money.

The woman, a retired dentist who is now a homemaker, was convicted by a court of first instance in July and fined Dh5,000, plus court fees. She denied knowing the complainant, receiving money from him or taking part in the WhatsApp conversations attributed to her.

The complainant said she had received money under an agency arrangement and later misappropriated it. But the appeal court found that his accounts of how the money was allegedly handed over and how much he had paid were unclear and inconsistent.

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The defence also questioned WhatsApp screenshots submitted with the complaint. The number shown in them began with '05' and did not include the UAE's international dialling code, +971.

“WhatsApp normally displays telephone numbers with their international country code,” said Legal Consultant Dr Hasan Elhais of Amal Al Rashedi Lawyers and Legal Consultants, who represented the woman.

Dr Elhais said the number's unusual format raised the possibility that it had been added to the images using photo-editing software. "The defence raised this as a reason to question whether the messages were genuine."

The defence also argued that the screenshots might have been coloured copies rather than the original electronic records, and could not reliably show who had created or sent the messages. Dr Elhais said no forensic report had verified that the conversations came from the woman's phone or WhatsApp account.

"The woman had denied the allegation from the outset, including any knowledge of the phone number linked to the messages," said Dr Elhais adding that she had maintained her denial since she was first questioned by police.

The court's concerns went beyond the WhatsApp messages. It found no reliable documents or supporting witness testimony to confirm the complainant's account. The case papers also contained no police inquiries that independently verified the circumstances or authenticity of the allegation.

The court questioned why the complainant would have handed a large sum to the woman when the available evidence showed no established relationship between them. It also noted that the case papers did not show that he carried out commercial activities or that the two had a documented business transaction.

The first-instance court had said the complainant's account was supported by the woman's confession and other circumstantial evidence. But the defence challenged this on appeal, saying the case file contained no confession by the woman. Elhais said she had not been questioned by prosecutors and had consistently denied the allegation in her police statement and before the trial court.

The woman was charged with breach of trust under Article 453 of the UAE Crimes and Penalties Law. Her defence argued that the charge required proof that money had first been entrusted to her under a recognised relationship of trust, such as an agency agreement.

“Without evidence of delivery, it could not be established that the money had ever entered the woman's custody or that she later treated it as her own,” Elhais said.

The appeal court said criminal judgments must be based on certainty, not suspicion or speculation, and that an accused person should be acquitted when the evidence is unreliable.

The three-judge panel unanimously ruled that the evidence was insufficient to uphold the conviction. It overturned the lower court's judgment and found the woman not guilty.

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