Two lure investor in Dubai into a fake crypto scheme, defraud him of Dhs1.098 million

Dubai Misdemeanors Court sentenced an Asian person and another in absentia to three months in jail to be followed by deportation and fined them jointly Dhs1.098 million on fraud charges.

The defendants lured a European through a fake crypto-currency project worth the same amount of the fine.

The case dates back to November last year when a European investor reported to the police that he had fallen victim to fraud by the defendants who lured him into buying a digital currency at a price lower than its global trading price.

The victim stated that the first defendant misled him into believing that the second defendant, who is still at large, was trading digital currencies and offering them for sale through a well-known trading platform, but at a price lower than the global price, which would generate large profits for him when re-trading.

He added that he agreed with the first defendant to meet the second defendant at a hotel in Al Mankhool area.

At the agreed-on time, he arrived with Dhs1,098 million in his possession, and so did the two defendants, he said, adding that during the meeting, the second defendant showed links to an active electronic wallet.

As the parties agreed on the purchase price, the second defendant received the money but before completing the transfer, he alleged that it was necessary to verify the amount using the money counting machine located in the hotel, he said.

The victim stated that the first defendant stayed with him in the hotel lounge, while the second defendant left to count the money, as he alleged.

As time passed, the second defendant did not return and it was later revealed that he had fled with the money, he said, adding that the police were notified accordingly and the first defendant was arrested.

A policeman stated in the interrogations that the first defendant denied any relationship with the second defendant, but investigations proved that the defendants had set together a well-thought-out plan to lure the victim and seize his money and that the second defendant left the place before the police arrived.

According to the court, the defendants deliberately misled the investor into believing that they possessed digital currencies and managed to trap him into handing his money over to the second defendant.

The court stated that the second defendant’s allegation that he went out to count the money using the hotel’s device was merely a means to distance himself from the investor in preparation for his escape and that the first defendant remained with the victim to distract him and prolong the time until the escape was completed.