A GCC expatriate man, who used to work as a representative of a well-known businessman in Qatar, has misappropriated a sum of QR132mn from his employer, local Arabic daily Arrayah reported.

The fraud came to the attention of the businessman when he received notification of a travel ban issued by a court, preventing him from leaving the country.

It turned out that his former representative had conducted a number of business transactions in his name without his knowledge. The representative had used cheque books entrusted by the businessman for the deals.

The accused faked the signature of the businessman to a great degree of accuracy that very few people doubted. The representative used to buy houses and precious items at higher than market prices and paid only with cheques due to be paid only after two months.

Then, he would sell such things through agents and get the money for himself.

The process went on undiscovered for a while as his employer spent some time outside the country. In due course, the representative claimed that he was travelling to his country on a short leave but never returned to Qatar.

Ultimately, the victim, who was surprised by a number of jail sentences and court orders against him in absentia, appealed the case at the Court of Appeal claiming that all the cheques signed in his name were counterfeited by his representative, who ran away to his country after stealing the money. The case is still being reviewed by the court.