Man duped into investing Dh50,000 in bogus Dubai company

Dubai - "The defendant did not pay me the cheques on time but was rather stalling."

A businessman has been charged with fraud at a Dubai court after he allegedly duped a compatriot into investing Dh50,000 in his 'project management company' - which never existed in government records.
Prosecutors accused the 30-year-old Syrian entrepreneur of forging a trade licence that he falsely attributed to the Department of Economic Development (DED) in Dubai.
According to public prosecution records, the businessman defrauded the complainant and made him hand over the amount after promising him a monthly revenue of 15 per cent of the capital.
The defendant denied charges of fraud and forgery at the Court of First Instance.
The case dates back to April 1, 2017, and a complaint was lodged at Al Qusais police station.
The complainant, a 32-year-old translator, said he went to the offices of the defendant's 'company' after reading an advert about them online.
"The defendant met me and introduced himself as the manager. I paid him a Dh50,000 cheque after he promised me 15 per cent of the monthly revenues from the project I would contribute in."
A contract was signed and the cheque, paid by the complainant, had the defendant's name as the beneficiary upon the latter's request.
The complainant received his first cheque of Dh7,500 in June. He got two more valid cheques but after that, he started getting only bad cheques from the businessman.
"The defendant did not pay me the cheques on time but was rather stalling. When I asked him to respect the payment deadlines, he became upset and told me to cancel the contract."
The complainant went to the police after the businessman failed to pay him the remaining amount of his dues.
A letter from the DED - presented by the prosecutor - stated that the trade licence used by the defendant is "not registered in their records".
The businessman admitted during the public prosecution investigation that he collected Dh50,000 from the complainant and that he promised him the said profits. 
The trial has been adjourned to January 28.
mary@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai