Dubai, Dec 29 (IANS): A Dubai court has sentenced an Indian man to a month in prison for not returning Dh570,000 (Rs 1.2 crore) that was transferred to his bank account last October by mistake.

The Dubai Criminal Court also asked the man to pay the same amount in fine and ordered his deportation after the completion of his sentence, The National reported.

The Indian, who was not named, told the court that he received a transfer notification and did not know where the money came from.

"I was surprised when Dh570,000 was deposited in my bank account. I paid for my rent and expenses," he told the court.

"A company asked me to return the money, but I refused because I was unsure if the money belonged to them. They asked me several times," The National reported the man as saying.

The money was transferred by a medical trading company.

"We discovered the transfer was done to an account similar to the supplier's account without checking the details," an official from the medical trading company told the judges.

The company then reported the incident to Al Raffa police station when the accused refused to retun the money despite knowing it had been transferred by mistake, the paper reported.

Dubai Public Prosecution charged him with obtaining the money illegally.

The man, whose bank account has since been frozen, admitted to the charge and asked for time to settle the claim, but his request was turned down.

He has appealed against the verdict and a hearing is expected next month.