Fraudulent weddings used to cheat Marriage Fund - Gulf News
As my students said this morning, it's a business. Quoting the article in full:
Abu Dhabi By A Staff Reporter October 4, 2003
Officials have uncovered a scam in which 200 UAE men have defrauded the Marriage Fund by entering into "phantom" marriages in which they divorce their brides immediately after the wedding and pocket the Dh70,000 grant.
Now, the offenders have been given an ultimatum either to return the money or marry another national woman within five months.
The grant was designed to dissuade nationals from lavish spending on wedding celebrations, promising them Dh70,000 if they restrict wedding costs to a minimum.
Jamal Al Bah, Director General of the fund, said a committee will meet next week to look into these cases and appraise other applications to ensure their credibility before grants are approved.
The grant, designed to help limited-income UAE nationals who want to marry, has helped thousands of men, but some have resorted to dubious means to get it.
Al Bah said they discovered that 200 marriages were not authentic and they were just on paper because they divorced immediately after receiving their grants.
Several other cases and forgeries were discovered by the fund's officials while auditing documents taken from prospective grooms to prove their eligibility for the grant. Al Bah said they follow strict rules, and applications are thoroughly investigated before approving applications.
Some men resort to tricks, claiming they are in debt or give fake documents claiming they are not earning enough to get the grant. A minimum salary of Dh16,000 has been set for the grant, with the exception of judges and prosecutors.
The fund applied to the government to increase its budget to Dh400 million, but the cabinet rejected it. This refusal will delay payments for three years due to financial restraint. He said the fund also receives applications which are more than its capacity and the committee has not discussed the issue since the beginning of this year.
The fund has received 3,200 applications so far this year but the committee has not been able to process last year's applications. He has appealed to the Ministry of Finance and Industry to release the Dh200 million deducted from the fund's budget in previous years.
Emphasis added. Yes, the date is 2003 and some improvements in enforcement and eligibility have occurred, but the problem has not gone away.
As my students said this morning, it's a business. Quoting the article in full:
Abu Dhabi By A Staff Reporter October 4, 2003
Officials have uncovered a scam in which 200 UAE men have defrauded the Marriage Fund by entering into "phantom" marriages in which they divorce their brides immediately after the wedding and pocket the Dh70,000 grant.
Now, the offenders have been given an ultimatum either to return the money or marry another national woman within five months.
The grant was designed to dissuade nationals from lavish spending on wedding celebrations, promising them Dh70,000 if they restrict wedding costs to a minimum.
Jamal Al Bah, Director General of the fund, said a committee will meet next week to look into these cases and appraise other applications to ensure their credibility before grants are approved.
The grant, designed to help limited-income UAE nationals who want to marry, has helped thousands of men, but some have resorted to dubious means to get it.
Al Bah said they discovered that 200 marriages were not authentic and they were just on paper because they divorced immediately after receiving their grants.
Several other cases and forgeries were discovered by the fund's officials while auditing documents taken from prospective grooms to prove their eligibility for the grant. Al Bah said they follow strict rules, and applications are thoroughly investigated before approving applications.
Some men resort to tricks, claiming they are in debt or give fake documents claiming they are not earning enough to get the grant. A minimum salary of Dh16,000 has been set for the grant, with the exception of judges and prosecutors.
The fund applied to the government to increase its budget to Dh400 million, but the cabinet rejected it. This refusal will delay payments for three years due to financial restraint. He said the fund also receives applications which are more than its capacity and the committee has not discussed the issue since the beginning of this year.
The fund has received 3,200 applications so far this year but the committee has not been able to process last year's applications. He has appealed to the Ministry of Finance and Industry to release the Dh200 million deducted from the fund's budget in previous years.
Emphasis added. Yes, the date is 2003 and some improvements in enforcement and eligibility have occurred, but the problem has not gone away.
Labels: marriage
posted by John B. Chilton at 3/21/2005 10:31:00 AM
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