Abu Dhabi closes four healthcare facilities over fraudulent sick leaves

Leave certificates were issued without medical examinations.

The Department of Health – Abu Dhabi (DoH) has shut down four healthcare facilities as a preliminary step toward the referral of all their staff to the Public Prosecution for investigation.

According to the DoH, the facilities were found to be issuing sick leave certificates through WhatsApp communications to individuals who had never attended medical examinations.

Applicants were asked to provide personal identification and basic health details, after which they were given the facility’s bank account number to transfer $27.23 (AED 100) per sick leave day.

The four facilities were found to be operating in coordination, using designated intermediaries to manage and distribute these sick leaves across their operations.

AED 1 = $0.27