Dubai Court Orders Man to Repay Dh1.29M in Cryptocurrency Fraud Case

The Dubai Court of First Instance has ordered a man of Asian nationality to repay Dh1.291 million to another Asian national after fraudulently obtaining cryptocurrency from him.

The civil judgment followed a final criminal conviction against the defendant, who had earlier been found guilty of using deceptive tactics to seize virtual assets belonging to the claimant.

Court records show that the victim owned a cryptocurrency wallet and was contacted by the defendant, who claimed he was interested in purchasing a large quantity of digital currency. Investigations later revealed that the accused, along with accomplices who remain at large, had planned a scheme to gain the victim’s trust.

To make the deal appear legitimate, the defendant allegedly sent several individuals of Arab nationalities to the victim’s workplace, presenting them as intermediaries acting on his behalf in the proposed transaction.

After building the victim’s confidence, the defendant met him the following day and appeared keen to finalise the purchase. He even displayed a large amount of cash to reinforce the impression that the deal was genuine.

Believing the transaction was legitimate, the victim transferred part of the cryptocurrency to the defendant’s digital wallet as an advance payment. The defendant, however, failed to complete the transaction and fled with the assets.

Police later identified the suspect through surveillance footage captured at the location of the incident and arrested him. Prosecutors charged him with fraudulently obtaining movable property valued at Dh1,291,500 through deception.

The Public Prosecution also accused the claimant of operating a virtual asset service without the required licence from regulatory authorities.

A criminal court fined the defendant Dh10,000 and ordered him, together with his fugitive accomplices, to return the amount obtained through fraud. The claimant was initially fined Dh50,000 for engaging in unlicensed virtual asset activities.

Both parties appealed the verdict. The Court of Appeal upheld the ruling, prompting the defendant to take the case to the Court of Cassation. The top court rejected his appeal and confirmed the conviction, while overturning the penalty imposed on the claimant and ordering a retrial on that charge.

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