Picture used for illustrative purpose only.

Mohammad Yaseen, Staff Reporter

The Dubai Criminal Court sentenced in absentia a European sales representative to 5 years in jail to be followed by deportation, besides a fine of Dhs7,772,000, on charges of defrauding an Arab investor.

Details of the incident date back to 2015, when the suspect visited the victim, the Arab investor impersonating a founder and partner in a major real estate company, and offered him a hotel real estate unit in one of the major real estate projects in Dubai.

The victim testified that the suspect briefed him on plans of one of the hotel units in a large project in the Emirate of Dubai, and they agreed on the price of the unit and  on the mode of payment.

Accordingly, the victim handed the suspect four cheques for the price of the unit and received receipts stamped with the seal of a real estate company and the suspect's fake company.

After the payment of all the installments and receiving the full amount, Dhs7,772,000 by the victim the defendant handed the victim a preliminary sale contract stamped with the seal of the Land and Property Department.

He told the victim he would receive the final contract after the completion of the project.

The victim added he visited the project site with the start of the delivery of the units in 2018 to receive his hotel unit, but he found that the hotel unit was registered in the name of another person.

The Legal Affairs Department proved that all the seals of the major real estate company were forged, so the investor directed to the Land Department, where it was found that all the seals on the contracts and documents were also forged.