Fake trading costs Abu Dhabi man Dhs59,000 via Telegram after being lured by others

The Abu Dhabi Family, Civil, and Administrative Cases Court has ordered a number of individuals to pay Dhs59,153 in compensation, along with a fine of Dhs3,500, to a victim they deceived.

The defendants lured the victim via the Telegram app, falsely promoting a trading and investment project. As a result, the victim transferred funds to the defendants' bank accounts in three separate instalments, after which the defendants refused to return the money. A prior criminal judgment had already convicted the defendants, mandating their deportation from the country as an alternative to a custodial sentence.

In the lawsuit, the complainant sought recovery of Dhs59,153, the sum that was misappropriated, as well as Dhs200,000 in compensation for material and emotional damage. Additionally, the lawsuit demanded Dhs2,000 to cover costs stemming from criminal proceedings, legal interest at a rate of 12% starting from the date of the criminal judgment until full payment, and court fees and expenses. The complainant also requested immediate enforcement of the judgment without requiring a security deposit.

The complainant initiated legal action, alleging that the defendants had deceived him through the Telegram app by presenting a fictitious trading and investment project. Acting on this misrepresentation, he transferred funds to their bank accounts in three separate instalments. However, the defendants later refused to return the money.

A prior criminal judgment had found the defendants guilty, sentencing them to deportation instead of imprisonment and requiring them to cover criminal court fees. The complainant stated that the incident resulted in both financial and emotional harm. To support his claim, he submitted evidence including the criminal judgment, associated notifications, invoices, receipts from the proceedings, and a certificate confirming that no appeal had been filed against the judgment.

The court acknowledged that the criminal judgment had established the defendants' culpability, ordering their deportation and confirming that they had fraudulently appropriated the complainant's funds, specifically Dhs59,153, which had been traced to their accounts. With the judgment now final, as evidenced by the non-appeal certificate, the court upheld its determination of the act's occurrence and its attribution to the defendants. Since there was no evidence indicating that the funds had been returned, the court ruled that the defendants must repay the full amount to the complainant.

Additionally, the court recognized that the defendants' actions—fraudulently obtaining and retaining the complainant's funds, resulted in a financial burden requiring him to take measures for recovery. For this financial loss, the court awarded Dhs2,300 as compensation. Regarding non-financial damages such as emotional distress, anxiety, and loss of peace of mind caused by the incident, the court granted an additional Dhs1,200 in compensation.