Dubai Duty Free raffle: Indian expat wins $1m after trying for 15 years

An Indian businessman became a millionaire in the latest Dubai Duty Free Millennium Millionaire and Finest Surprise promotions.

Abraham Joyee, 60, won the $1 million raffle with ticket number 1031, which he purchased online on May 27.

Joyee has been taking part in the promotion for 15 years now. The father of two owns a trading company in Dubai. “This is truly an amazing win. I have made my life in Dubai for the past 35 years and, for this, I am forever thankful.”

When asked about his initial plans with his win, he said: “I will put aside a large part of my win to my business while I will share some to charities in Dubai.”

Joyee, who hails from Kerala in India, is the 180th Indian national to have won $1 million since the start of the promotion in 1999. Indian nationals make up the highest number of Dubai Duty Free Millennium Millionaire ticket buyers.

The Finest Surprise draw saw Abdulla Ahmed, a 55-year-old UAE national based in Sharjah, win a Range Rover Sport HSE Dynamic 3.0 P360.

Sanjay Asnani, a 32-year-old Indian national based in Dubai, won an Aprilia RSV4 Factory (Atomico Racer) motorbike.

Asnani is a second-time motorbike winner after he first won an Indian Scout Bobber Twenty (Burnished Metallic) in September 2020. “I can’t believe that I won again,” he said.

Herve Ziegler, a French national based in the UAE, won an Indian Scout Icon (Gray/Black Icon) motorbike.