Abu Dhabi court orders man to repay AED311,360 in car import fraud

The Abu Dhabi Family, Civil and Administrative Court has ordered a man to return AED311,360 to a young man after deceiving him into believing he would import a car with special specifications from abroad. The court also ordered him to pay AED4,000 in supplementary compensation for material damages suffered by the victim, bringing the total compensation to AED55,000, including the temporary compensation awarded in the criminal case. The young man filed a lawsuit against the defendant, demanding AED316,471, in addition to late-payment interest at a rate of 9% per year from the date the lawsuit was filed. He also sought AED50,000 in compensation for material damages, as well as fees, expenses and attorney fees. He explained that he had agreed with the defendant to import a car with special specifications from abroad and had paid the agreed amount. However, the defendant failed to fulfil the agreement. When the plaintiff requested a refund, the defendant allegedly sent him a fabricated transfer notice to mislead him. The matter ultimately resulted in the defendant’s criminal conviction. The court said that the Civil Transactions Law requires anyone who unlawfully takes possession of another person’s property to return it in its original condition. If the property has been consumed, damaged or lost, the person is required to return its equivalent value, along with any associated benefits and gains. The court noted that the criminal judgment established the defendant’s guilt in fraudulently obtaining Canadian dollars 114,734 from the plaintiff. It found that the defendant had deceived the plaintiff into believing that he worked in the business of importing vehicles from abroad, causing him to trust the claim and hand over the money. The court added that the criminal court had fined the defendant AED300,000 and ordered him to pay AED51,000 in temporary compensation to the victim. The incident determined in the criminal judgment was the same incident on which the civil case was based, the court explained. As the criminal ruling had become final and binding, it established the defendant’s liability for the amount stated therein, equivalent to AED311,360 according to the exchange rate in January 2023, when the transaction took place. The court confirmed that the defendant did not provide any evidence showing that he had repaid or refunded the money. He also failed to attend court hearings despite being duly notified. As a result, the court found that the plaintiff’s request for repayment was based on valid legal grounds, while rejecting additional claims for which no supporting evidence had been provided. Regarding the compensation claim, the court stated that the defendant’s fraudulent seizure of the young man’s money constituted an unlawful act. It noted that the criminal judgment had already awarded temporary compensation of AED51,000, limiting the scope of the current lawsuit to determining whether further compensation should be awarded. The damages included the loss of potential profit and benefit over a period of nearly five years. The court also considered the fact that the plaintiff had been deprived of the opportunity to invest the money in income-generating activities or use it to purchase another vehicle from which he could have benefited. The court concluded that the plaintiff was entitled to supplementary compensation of AED4,000, bringing the total compensation, including the amount already awarded by the criminal court, to AED55,000. It therefore ordered the defendant to return AED311,360, pay the supplementary compensation, and cover the fees and expenses.