Fake property brokers ordered to repay Dhs15,566 and pay damages in Abu Dhabi

The Abu Dhabi Family, Civil, and Administrative Cases Court has ruled that a group of individuals must compensate another individual.

The person filing the lawsuit sought a court order for the group to jointly pay him Dhs15,566 and Dhs35,000 as compensation, along with covering all court fees and expenses.

The basis of his claim rested on interactions he had through WhatsApp with one member of the group, who presented themselves as real estate brokers. He was inquiring about an apartment for rent. After reaching an agreement to rent the property, they requested that he transfer Dhs3,000 as a deposit to one of their bank accounts. Subsequently, they asked him to transfer Dhs9,666, claiming it was for the initial rent payment, into the account of the property owner's fiancée. Additionally, he was instructed to send Dhs2,900 as a brokerage fee to one of their accounts, totaling Dhs15,566 in transferred funds. Despite these payments, they failed to provide him access to the agreed-upon apartment, resulting in fraud and misuse of his money. A criminal complaint was lodged, leading to a conviction. Their actions inflicted both moral and financial distress on him.

After examining the documents, the court confirmed that the amount owed was Dhs15,566, establishing the defendants' responsibility. This fulfillment of civil liability elements required them to repay the amount.

The court noted that the defendants inflicted both material damages, including loss of profit and misuse of the plaintiff's funds, and moral damages, such as pain, distress, and sorrow. As a result, awarding Dhs15,000 in compensation was deemed appropriate and sufficient for covering these damages.