European dupes investor out of millions of dirhams

Mohammed Yaseen, Staff Reporter

A 39-year-old European sales representative duped an Arab investor of more than Dhs7.77 million through forging official documents and stamps belonging to real estate institutions.

The Public Prosecution in Dubai referred the case of the fugitive accused to the Criminal Court, where the first hearing session was held on Monday.  

The details of the incident dates back to 2015, when the accused “fugitive” posed as a founder and partner in a real estate company when visited the victim (Arab investor) and offered a hotel apartment in one of the major real estate projects in Dubai.

The victim stated that the defendant showed him schemes for one of the hotel units in a large project in the Emirate of Dubai, and they agreed on the price of the unit and the method of payment.

The accused was handed over four cheques for the unit value, while the victim received receipts stamped by the real estate company that owns the project, in addition to the receipts from the accused’s brokerage company.

Following completion of the instalments after three years, the accused handed the victim a preliminary sale contract stamped by the Land Department, explaining that the final contract will be received after the completion of the project and then receive the unit.

When the victim visited the project site in 2018 to see his unit, which he purchased with full confidence that it belonged to him. But when he visited the company’s headquarters, he was surprised that the hotel unit is registered in the name of another person.

It was found out that all the stamps of the real estate company that owns the project were forged.

Accordingly, the investor walked to the Land Department, where he was told that all the stamps on the contracts and documents were also forged.