Fraudulent trader jailed, fined Dhs200,000

Hamza M Sengendo, Staff Reporter

A trader conned an investor out of $7,500 in a ghost Dhs154 million investment deal. He must see out his five-year jail term and Dhs200,000 fine.

The African defendant, 58, with the help of an unidentified accomplice smuggled a heap of bundles of dollars and Euro banknotes into the UAE to circulate them, prosecutors told the Criminal Court.

He met a Turkish investor in Dubai and duped him into believing that he had $42 million (Dhs154 million) inside a box in Nigeria that he wanted to bring to the UAE and pump it into the investor’s business.

He expressed willingness to be the investor’s business associate. He asked him for $7,500 worth shipment fees for the $42m. He showed him the bogus banknotes to cement the claim that he had dollars.

The investor fell victim to the deceit. He had a meeting with the trader inside a hotel on Sheikh Zayed Road and handed him the fees. The trader disappeared. The investor contacted the Dubai Police CID.

An Omani corporal testified that the CCTV footage at the Dubai hotel where they met captured the payment incident. Anti-financial Crimes Management cops apprehended the defendant in Sharjah.

They combed his apartment and landed on counterfeit banknotes plus two machines, several masks, gloves and needles used in scams. He was sued on Aug.13. He confessed during court questioning.

He had told prosecutors that his friend brought the banknotes from abroad, handed them to him in Al Nahdah and tasked him with using them to swindle money from the victim in question, and others.

He confessed before the police and gave a similar explanation. His smartphone contained 10 video clips and 27 photos of bags full of money and gold bullions and machines used to print money.

The Dubai Criminal Court sentenced him to five years behind bars to be followed by deportation and slapped him with a Dhs200,000 fine. The Dubai Appeals Court has upheld the penalty.