Court to Rule on ‘Dead Man Alive’ Case

The First High Criminal Court is set to deliver its verdict on September 30 in a highly unusual case involving a defendant nicknamed the “dead man alive.”

He is standing trial alongside his arrested brother and fugitive wife, accused of forging a death certificate to claim a $500,000 life insurance payout from a Gulf-based company.

During yesterday’s session, defense attorney Umair Salah delivered closing arguments on behalf of the second defendant, asserting her client’s innocence.

Civil Compensation

Meanwhile, attorney Amal Lari, representing the insurance company, pressed for civil compensation. The court also heard testimony from the defendants’ brother, who denied that the individual shown in a court-presented video was his sibling, maintaining that his brother had actually died in May 2023.

Prosecutors alleged that the first and second defendants conspired with an unknown accomplice to forge an official death certificate, complete with a genuine foreign ministry seal. The document was later submitted in civil court by an unwitting intermediary.

Investigations revealed that the first defendant had previously taken out a $500,000 life insurance policy in favor of his wife, who later filed a civil claim using the forged certificate. Suspicion led the insurance company to commission a private international investigation in an Asian country, which confirmed that the “deceased” man was, in fact, alive and that the certificate had been fraudulently obtained.

Insurance Fraud Charges

The Public Prosecution charged the defendants with forgery, use of forged documents, and attempted fraud to unlawfully claim the insurance money. Authorities said the scheme was uncovered before the payout could be made.