4 jailed, 27 fined over Dh1b car sales fraud

abu dhabi — 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 31 men who were charged in the case, a lower court had let off the 27 men. The appellate court, however, found them guilty.

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 appellate court removed the charges because it was found that they were unlawfully charged.

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.