Man duped of Dh431,000 by giving forged visas, court hears

I found later the permits were forged. I also paid them Dh350,000 on another occasion for hiring 430 workers for different jobs.”

The complainant

dubai — A 29-year-old investor has been charged at the Dubai Court of First Instance with fraud and forgery after he allegedly duped a man of more than Dh431,000.

Prosecutors accused the Pakistani investor, together with his runaway accomplices, of forging employment visa copies and using them by delivering them to the complainant.

The accused and his accomplices defrauded the victim of Dh431,325, which they collected in return for the visas, which later turned out to be fake.

He has been charged with forgery, use of forged documents, breach of trust and fraud.

The case dates back to December 21, 2015, and a complaint was lodged at Al Muraqqabat police station.

The complainant, a Pakistani, said he arrived in the UAE in 2014 and had a plan to open a business of outsourcing and recruitment of labour force from all over the world. “I met a man at a hotel and he introduced himself as an executive manager for a human resources consultancy firm. Through that man, I met another executive manager for an international firm. The latter collected Dh1,325 from me to issue visas for workers.”

The complainant was later introduced to another businessman who received Dh20,000 from him in return for labour permits. “I found later the permits were forged. I also paid them Dh350,000 on another occasion for hiring 430 workers for different jobs.”

He discovered later that the visas were all fake except for a very few numbers. “I received 45 visas, out of which only five were valid. I knew that I had fallen victim to fraud when they (the suspects) all became elusive and vanished,” the complainant told the public prosecution investigator after he could not get his money back.

A letter from the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners’ Affairs, which says that the entry permits were forged, was enclosed to the case file by the prosecution.

The defendant admitted he had received Dh180,000 on one occasion from the complainant. He transferred the sum to his bank account in Pakistan.

The trial continues on December 17.