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28 March 2024

UAE woman 'conned' into Dh2.5m payout

Maid confessed to stealing Dh1,000 from another domestic help. (Shutterstock)

Published
By Eman Al Baik

A Syrian and his uncle conned a businesswoman into paying Dh2.5 million using forged Ministry of Economy documents, Dubai Criminal Court heard.

HA, 28, and his uncle MA, 55, convinced a business broker KA, that they had signed a Dh29m contract with the Ministry of Economy for organising a GCC exhibition and that they are a strategic partner with the ministry.

The two asked the broker, KA, to find them someone who can finance Dh2.5m, which they promised to return after two months with Dh500,000 profit.

In May 2013, the broker contacted the businesswoman, who accepted to meet the suspects. At the meeting, the suspects allegedly showed the woman documents and contracts on the ministry’s letter head with stamps. The 58-year-old woman signed the contract with the investors and paid them Dh2,450,000 in two cheques, the court heard.

“After sixty days the two returned the capital with Dh500,000 profits,” the woman told investigators. But they did not divulge any details about the investment and since she travels a lot, she did not have the time to ask.

Later, they contacted her again for another deal – to invest in diesel in Sudan. “They showed me many documents about this investment opportunity. However, I did not take any copy of the documents,” she said.

They allegedly asked her to pay Dh3m against which she was promised Dh150,000 profits within one month. She claimed that she handed cheques of Dh3m. However, after two months the duo did not return the amount. And when they finally did on July 14, 2014, the cheque bounced.

In August 2014, the investors handed her another cheque with another bank replacing the first bounced cheque. “When the cheque was due, the bank informed me that the account had been closed long time ago,” she testified.

“I did not lodge a complaint at that time as I wanted to get my money amicably from the two,” the woman told.

Later she alleged that she met HA, who agreed with her to sign on undertaking of returning the amount together with its profit. While he was writing the undertaking, he took the original cheque and then said that he tore it off and refused to turn it back to her, she claimed.

When she insisted on having the torn cheque back, he gave her a photocopy of the same, she added.

It’s only later, when her lawyer took over the case that it was revealed the two suspects had shown her forged ministry documents.

Meanwhile, the broker, KA, said that the woman had shown interest in continuing business with the duo when they returned the Dh2.5m together with the Dh500,000 profits the first time.

However, KA testified that the second deal that was signed by the two for Dh1.5m and Dh250,000 profits.  “This was the second and last deal signed in front of me. I did not get any commission from any of the two parties and I did not meet them after that,” KA told investigators.

The Ministry of Economy reported that the documents presented by the investors were forged and carried forged seals and signatures.

The court will reconvene on September 16.