Dubai Court Awards Dh4.7M to Investor Cheated of Gold and Cryptocurrency

A Dubai investor who entrusted a man with assets including six kilogrammes of gold and cryptocurrency has been awarded more than Dh4.7 million by a Dubai court after the assets were misappropriated.

 

The Dubai Civil Court ordered the defendant to pay Dh4.4 million, representing the value of the misappropriated assets, and an additional Dh300,000 in compensation for the damages suffered by the investor.

 

The ruling followed an earlier criminal case in which the Dubai Misdemeanours and Violations Court convicted the defendant of breach of trust. He was sentenced to three years in prison, ordered to be deported from the UAE and fined Dh4.4 million.

 

According to court records, the investor had entrusted the defendant with assets including six kilogrammes of gold and cryptocurrency under an agency arrangement.

 

However, the defendant misappropriated the assets placed in his custody, prompting criminal proceedings. The criminal court subsequently found him guilty of breach of trust, and the judgment became final.

 

Following the conviction, the investor filed a civil lawsuit seeking the return of the value of the misappropriated assets, along with compensation for the financial and other damages he had suffered.

 

In its ruling, the civil court held that the final criminal judgment had conclusively established that the defendant had committed the offence and misappropriated assets belonging to the investor.

 

The court explained that, because the criminal judgment had become final, the defendant's criminal responsibility could not be reconsidered during the civil proceedings.

 

The civil court's role was therefore limited to assessing the damage resulting from the established offence and determining the amount the investor was entitled to recover.

 

On the claim for restitution, the court ordered the defendant to pay Dh4.4 million, representing the value of the assets proven to have been misappropriated. It additionally awarded the investor Dh300,000 in compensation for the damages arising from the offence.

 

The defendant was also ordered to pay legal interest on the amounts awarded, as well as court fees and expenses.

 

The judgment highlights an important legal principle: findings established by a final criminal judgment are binding on a civil court when it considers compensation arising from the same offence. Once criminal responsibility has been conclusively established, the civil proceedings focus on assessing the financial damage caused and determining the compensation payable to the affected party.

 

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