UAE phone clerk slammed in scheme on coveted codes
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A plot by a phone company clerk to sell status symbol mobile numbers has rung up some serious costs: six months in an Abu Dhabi prison followed by deportation.
An Abu Dhabi court also ordered the Palestinian man to pay a 35,000 dirham ($9,500) fine.
That's the same amount he took as a bribe for one of the distinctive numbers, which included some already belonging to members of ruling families in other parts of the United Arab Emirates.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Media reports Monday say the client who paid the bribe also faces the same punishments.
Phone numbers or license plates with easy-to-remember sequences — such as 9999 — are highly coveted in the image-conscious UAE and often command sky-high prices.