The Al Ain Civil, Commercial and Administrative Claims Court in the UAE upheld a woman’s right to recover AED 40,000 that she had mistakenly transferred to another person’s bank account and ordered the bank to return the amount to her immediately.

According to case documents, there was no financial or contractual relationship between the woman and the recipient account holder that could justify the transfer. It was also established that the account holder had been outside the UAE since 2024 and that the transferred funds, apart from fees deducted by the bank, remained in the account.

Lawsuit filed after mistaken AED 40,000 transfer

The woman filed a lawsuit against the account holder, seeking the return of AED 40,000, compensation for damages, and payment of court costs and legal fees.

In her claim, she said she had mistakenly transferred the amount from her bank account to the defendant’s account, despite there being no financial or contractual relationship between them that could justify the payment.

After contacting the bank but failing to recover the money, the woman reported the matter to the relevant authorities. However, the criminal case was closed because there was insufficient evidence to establish criminal intent.

To support her claim in court, the claimant submitted a copy of the transfer receipt and the Public Prosecution’s decision in the criminal case.

According to the Public Prosecution’s decision, the defendant had been outside the UAE since 2024, and there was insufficient evidence to prove that he intended to appropriate the funds.

Bank confirms AED 39,831 remained in account

During the proceedings, neither the defendant nor his legal representative appeared in court. However, a bank representative attended the hearing and submitted a report confirming the transfer of AED 40,000 from the claimant’s account to the defendant’s account.

The bank said the amount had been credited to the defendant’s account and that the account holder had not withdrawn, transferred or otherwise used the funds.

It was also established that the bank account had been inactive for more than seven months.

According to the bank’s report, the account balance at the time the case was reviewed was AED 39,831. The AED 169 difference between the transferred amount and the remaining balance resulted from periodic bank fees deducted from the account.

The bank said it would act in accordance with the court’s decision regarding the funds held in the account.

Woman takes supplementary oath to prove mistaken transfer

Before issuing its ruling, the court asked the claimant to take a supplementary oath to complete the evidence she had submitted.

The woman took the oath before the court, saying:

“I swear by Almighty God that the amount claimed, AED 40,000, was mistakenly transferred from my account to the defendant’s account. I have no financial or contractual relationship with the defendant, nor do I owe him any money.”

The court said the oath had been administered to supplement the documents and evidence submitted by the claimant.

Closure of criminal case did not prevent civil proceedings

In reviewing the evidence, the court stressed that the bank’s report confirmed the transfer of AED 40,000 from the claimant’s account to the defendant’s account. It was also established that the account holder had not withdrawn any of the money and that the amount, apart from bank fees, remained in the account.

The court also referred to the Public Prosecution’s decision, which stated that the defendant had been outside the UAE since 2024 and that the criminal case had been closed because of insufficient evidence to establish criminal intent.

However, the court clarified that the closure of the criminal case did not prevent it from considering the civil aspects of the matter or assessing the claimant’s right to recover the funds.

Based on the case documents, the bank’s report and the claimant’s supplementary oath, the court concluded that AED 40,000 had been mistakenly transferred to the defendant’s account and that there was no legal basis for him to retain the funds.

The court found that no evidence had been presented of any contractual relationship or debt between the parties that could justify the transfer, and there was no proof that the account holder was entitled to the deposited amount.

Court orders immediate return of AED 40,000

The Al Ain court ultimately upheld the claimant’s right to recover AED 40,000 and ordered the bank to return the mistakenly transferred funds to her immediately.

The court also ordered the claimant to bear the court fees and legal expenses.

According to the case documents, no evidence was presented to show that the account holder intended to appropriate the transferred funds.

The ruling was therefore based on proof that the money had been transferred by mistake and that there was no legal basis for retaining it. It did not constitute a finding that the account holder had committed a criminal offence.