JEDDAH, 4 July 2006 — An Arab expatriate working as an accountant in a hotel chain in the tourist city of Abha disappeared with SR150,000 from the company accounts.
The accountant, an Egyptian, worked three months and earned the confidence of his superiors. Company officials detected the theft when he did not return after he went to perform Umrah three weeks ago.
His neighbors said the man had taken all his belongings when he went to Makkah. Later the company officials learned that he had left the country.
Another Egyptian working for a private company in Abu Arish in the southern province of Jizan cheated several of his expatriate friends by collecting more than SR40,000 promising them profitable shares in an investment.
He forged his employer’s signature to draw SR120,000 from the company’s account apart from embezzling SR60,000 from various transactions of the company. When the management sensed that the man was involved in some dubious activities, a certified accountant was appointed to audit the accounts handled by him.
On learning about the inquiry, the man reportedly slipped out of the country. Police officers who went to arrest him following his employer’s complaint discovered that the man had already left the Kingdom. The employer wonders how the man could have done that while his passport was still with him. It is assumed that he might have used a forged passport to flee the country.
