The Dubai Court of First Instance has ordered a man of Asian nationality to repay Dh1.291 million after he was found guilty of fraudulently obtaining cryptocurrency from another individual.
The civil ruling followed a final criminal conviction against the defendant for using deceptive methods to take digital assets from the victim.
According to court records, the victim owned a cryptocurrency wallet and was approached by the suspect, who claimed he wanted to purchase a large amount of digital currency.
Investigations revealed that the accused, together with accomplices who remain at large, staged a scheme to gain the victim’s trust. Several individuals were reportedly sent to the victim’s workplace and introduced as intermediaries representing the buyer to make the transaction appear legitimate.
After building confidence in the deal, the defendant later met the victim and displayed a large sum of cash to convince him that the purchase was genuine.
Believing the transaction was real, the victim transferred part of the cryptocurrency to the suspect’s digital wallet as an advance payment. The defendant then failed to complete the deal and fled with the assets.
Authorities later identified the suspect through surveillance footage and arrested him. Prosecutors charged him with fraudulently seizing property valued at Dh1,291,500.
A criminal court fined the defendant Dh10,000 and ordered him, along with his accomplices, to repay the stolen amount.
Meanwhile, the victim was initially fined Dh50,000 for operating a virtual asset activity without the required license. However, the penalty was later overturned by the Dubai Court of Cassation, which confirmed the defendant’s conviction and ordered a retrial on the licensing issue.
