Duo impersonates FTA officials, dupes company of Dhs723,000 in Dubai

Two men defrauded a company and its director by falsely claiming to be employees of the Federal Tax Authority (FTA). Using forged documents and fraudulent means, they seized Dhs723,000, claiming to settle outstanding tax obligations of the company.

The Court of Misdemeanours in Dubai convicted them, sentencing them to 6 months in jail, fining them the amount of the crime, and deporting them from the country.

The company and director filed a civil lawsuit demanding the return of the money and Dhs12 million in compensation. However, the Civil Court in Dubai ordered the suspects to return the seized amount with legal interest, and rejected the compensation claim.

The details date back to when a company and its director filed a civil lawsuit before the Dubai court, demanding that two men jointly return Dhs723,000 and Dhs12 million in compensation for material and moral damages incurred.

The company director stated that the suspects contacted him, claiming to work for the Federal Tax Authority (FTA). They provided him with specific company information to lend credibility to their claims and informed him of outstanding taxes and fines owed by the company, offering to help him submit reconsideration requests and settle those obligations.

According to the lawsuit documents, the company director handed over Dhs723,000 to the suspects before later discovering he had fallen victim to a fraud. He then filed a report with the competent authorities, leading to the conviction of the defendants.

The court indicated that the final criminal judgment proved that the defendants had forged the state seal and the FTA's stamp, as well as the signature of one of its employees, and used forged official documents to mislead the victim into believing his company was cleared of tax obligations, thereby seizing the disputed amount of money.

The criminal court had sentenced the defendants to six months in jail, jointly fined them Dhs723,000, confiscated the forged documents, and ordered their deportation from the country.

The Court of Appeal and the Court of Cassation upheld the ruling, making it final.

During the civil lawsuit, the plaintiffs stated that the defendants' crime caused significant financial damage to the company and deprived it of legal opportunities to address its tax situation, requesting Dhs12 million in compensation.

However, the court clarified that it had appointed a tax and accounting expert committee to verify these claims and determine the extent of the damages and the causal link, but the plaintiffs failed to pay the expert's fee of Dhs60,000 despite being given sufficient time.

The court affirmed that the failure to pay the expert's fee resulted in the plaintiffs losing their right to rely on any procedure resulting from the expert's report. Furthermore, the lawsuit documents lacked sufficient evidence to prove the damages for which compensation was sought, which prevented the court from granting this request.

The court consequently ordered the defendants to jointly return Dhs723,000 with a legal interest of 5% from the date of the final judgment until full payment, and rejected the Dhs12 million compensation claim, while obliging them to pay the fees, expenses, and legal costs.