Sulaiman Al-Fahim handed jail term in Dubai for '˜stealing £5m from his wife to buy Pompey'

Former Pompey owner Sulaiman Al-Fahim was sentenced to five years in his absence, it has been reported.

An account manager of the victim has also been jailed following a hearing at Dubai Criminal Court.

The National reported the victim’s Emirati husband, 42, was convicted and found guilty of forgery and use of forged documents as well as aiding and abetting.

The account manager, also 42, was convicted of forgery and use of forged documents as well as aiding and abetting.

Both were sentenced to five years in prison.

The BBC said Al-Fahim was sentenced in his absence.

Prosecutors said the 39-year-old housewife opened an account at a local bank in 2009 and began a fixed deposit. When she did not receive any profit she contacted the accounts manager.

The woman said: ‘He sent me an email in August 2010 confirming the procedures for the fixed deposit had been completed and recommended that I continue my investment for another year.

She added she received several e-mails from the manager asking her to sign some documents, which she refused to do.

The National reported that in September 2011, she e-mailed the manager asking him to transfer the amount of her fixed deposit to a different bank because she had not received any profit.

She said: ‘But he kept stalling so I visited the bank and met the bank manager and another man, they told me that my account had zero money in it.’

She then reported the incident to the bank’s legal affairs department.

‘When the legal affairs didn’t do anything, I reported it to Al Rashidiyah police station,’ she added.

The manager told police the woman’s husband was handling her fixed deposit after she gave him official authorisation, and that he – the husband – transferred the money to a law firm in the UK.

The National reported that court records showed the money was later used by the law firm representing the husband, to purchase Pompey.

The woman denied giving her husband authorisation to manage the account, saying ‘I didn’t give my husband any authorisation to withdraw or transfer the money, I just gave him an authorisation to handle general inquires by phone and fax’.