Photo for illustrative purposes only. ARCHIVE

Dubai: Two arrested for selling properties with fake documents

Dubai Police arrested two individuals suspected of selling homes they did not own in the emirate. According to the authorities, the clients were duped out of Dh2 million by the scammers. Officers said the men used forged paperwork to market Dubai condos to prospective buyers. Outlining the facts of the case, Dubai Police stated that within two days, they received more than a dozen reports from victims of the fraud. "We received 13 reports about the incident in which victims said they saw a post on social media offering to sell units in Dubai for a much cheaper price than they cost," said Maj Gen Jamal Al Jallaf, director of Dubai Police's Criminal Investigation Department. "They said they contacted the two advertisers who claimed they owned the units and needed to sell them quickly to justify the price difference." Jallaf said the victims went to the units and were shown ownership paperwork before handing money to the scammers. "After receiving the payments, the scammers stopped answering their victims' calls," Maj Gen Al Jallaf said. The incident was investigated by a team from Dubai Police's Department of Anti-Economic Crime. Within two days, officers could identify, track down, and arrest the offenders. Police did not disclose the nationalities of the two men arrested but said they were from an African nation. Their ages and the dates of the incidents were also not revealed. During questioning, it was determined that the accused had transferred over Dh2 million to their home country, which they are suspected of stealing from their victims. They were referred to prosecutors for further investigation. The transfers were halted, and the money was recovered with the assistance of the money exchange centers utilized to wire the money. "People should be more careful," Maj Gen Al Jallaf said. "Their desire to own real estate units at such a low and false price made them easy prey for the scammers to the extent they did not even double check the papers they were shown." BKM/ Expat Media
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