Picture used for illustrative purpose only.

Dubai Criminal Court sentenced two Arabs to jail for one year and fined them Dhs200,000 for seizing others’ money by deceiving them with an ad on Facebook to promote the US dollar at less than its current price, besides possessing counterfeit currency.

Both will be deported after serving their jail term.

The details of the case date back to September 2023, when reports were received by the police about the promotion of US dollar for trading at less than its price through an ad on Facebook.

A policeman stated that an investigation team set up a trap and contacted the numbers in the ad. It was then agreed to exchange Dhs10,000 for $5,000 and a police source headed to the specified location in possession of Dhs10,000 where he met the first suspect, who handed him $5,000.

He was caught red-handed in possession of the money after finding out that it was counterfeit.

On being questioned, the suspect denied counterfeiting the currency and confessed that he worked for another person in trading currency at less than its value.

He also confessed to running advertisements promoting the US dollar through Facebook pages and other social media platforms.

He added that he was in charge of  agreeing on handing over and receiving processes with those wishing to benefit from the price in the promotional ads.

He guided the police to the second suspect who was arrested at his residence in possession of $50 counterfeit notes.

On being questioned, he confessed to participating with the other suspect to seize the money of the victims wishing to obtain foreign currency at less than its price by promoting it on social media platforms.