Four jailed, 27 fined Dh100,000 in Dh1b UAE car sales fraud

Abu Dhabi - A fourth convict was given a year in jail because he had paid off all the people he owed money.

Twenty-seven men have been ordered to pay a fine of Dh100,000 over their role in a Dh1 billion car sales fraud case in Abu Dhabi.
Of the 34 men who were charged in the case, a lower court had let off the 27 men. The appellate court removed money laundering charges against the men because it was found that they were unlawfully charged for this.
The court has also reduced the jail terms of the main perpetrators of the case - three Emiratis - from 13 years to three after they were cleared of a money laundering charge. The court of first instance had jailed them for 13 years, including 10 years for money laundering. The appellate court acquitted the men of this charge due to lack of evidence. They were found guilty of engaging in fraudulent activities and exploiting others' money.
They were also jailed for an additional six months for trading without a licence.
A fourth convict was given just a year in jail because he had paid off all the people he owned money to in the case.
Official court documents stated that the scam began after one of the men needed money to pay off a debt. He bought a car and paid for it using a post-dated cheque. He then sold the car and cleared the debt. And when time came to encash the cheque, he bought another using another post-dated cheque, sold it off and cleared the first seller's money.
Investigations showed that the Emirati and his gang lured customers to buy cars from them and later they would encourage them to sell the cars through them at a higher price by offering them big profits.
Officers said the fraudsters promised the investors a 100 per cent return on their money, before this changed to between 70 and 80 per cent.
Prosecutors said they received 1,909 complaints against the men and that the money deposited by the victims amounted to more than Dh800 million.
Financial claims worth Dh2.3 billion, including the deposited amount, were filed by the victims.
ismail@khaleejtimes.com

• Abu Dhabi