Three Asian nationals, one is a fugitive, defrauded a woman out of Dhs56,000 by tricking her into investing in cryptocurrency trading, so the Misdemeanour and Violations Court in Dubai sentenced two of them in their presence and the third in absentia to one month in jail, a collective fine of Dhs56,000, and deportation after serving their sentences, a ruling upheld by the Court of Appeals.
The incident dates back to March 2025 when a woman filed a complaint stating she had been scammed, explaining that she received a WhatsApp message from an anonymous person claiming to be a representative of an international cryptocurrency trading company, offering her an investment opportunity promising high returns in a short period. During interrogation, the victim added that the sender asked her to participate in a survey via Telegram and then he transferred Dhs30 to her bank account, then instructed her to watch promotional videos about the company and its potential for high profits.
After being convinced, she invested Dhs56,000, which was transferred to multiple bank accounts within the UAE but afterward, the perpetrator turned off his phone and blocked her.
A police man stated in the interrogation that a detective team identified two of the suspects, whose bank accounts were used in the scam. On being questioned, they confessed to receiving transfers from the victim after being contacted by the fugitive suspect via WhatsApp, who offered them Dhs200 per transaction to receive the funds and transfer them to cryptocurrency accounts.
One of the suspects admitted to receiving approximately 50 local transfers and depositing them into cryptocurrency accounts.
