Dubai convicts 21 people in major visa fraud case, issues Dhs 25.2 million fine

The Dubai Citizenship and Residency Prosecution has secured from the Dubai Citizenship and Residency Court a conviction and a fine totalling Dhs 25.210 million against 21 defendants of various nationalities involved in visa fraud. The individuals were found guilty in one of the largest cases pertaining to the illegal use of residence visas to exploit people and operating phantom companies that they would abruptly close without regularising the status of the recruited workers.

Counsellor Dr. Ali Humaid bin Khatem, Senior Advocate General and Head of the Citizenship and Residency Prosecution, stated that the Public Prosecution took up the investigation after the suspects and dubious companies were flagged by the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs in Dubai. The arrests followed extensive monitoring, follow-ups, and inspections of the companies’ purported offices, which were subsequently found to be non-existent and established merely for the purpose of obtaining residence visas in a clandestine manner.

Extensive investigation

Following their arrest, the defendants were referred to the Citizenship and Residency Prosecution, which conducted an extensive investigation and secured all the necessary evidence required. The case subsequently came up for trial in the Dubai Citizenship and Residency Court, which issued a verdict convicting the 21 accused.

Dr. Bin Khatem said that the investigation covered 33 commercial establishments, which served as decoys for obtaining and misusing 385 residency visas. It was also found that most of the business licences under which the illegal establishments operated had been secured by furnishing fictitious addresses, pointing to a deliberate intent to undermine and exploit residency and labour regulations for unlawful gain.

“The Public Prosecution will continue to work closely with its partners to address any violations of laws governing the entry and residence of foreigners as well as labour regulations in order to preserve the stability of society and the integrity of the labour market,” Dr. Bin Khatem added.