Dubai convicts 30 gang members and seven companies of money laundering and embezzlement

Individuals were sentenced to a total of 96 years in jail and ordered to pay a collective fine of more than $8.7 million

The seven companies involved in the case were ordered to pay a fine of Dh700,000. Antonie Robertson / The National

A Dubai court has convicted a 30-member gang and seven companies on charges of money laundering and embezzling Dh32 million ($8.7 million) in an online fraud targeting individuals and companies.

The gang members were sentenced to a combined total of 96 years of imprisonment and be deported after serving their sentence, the Dubai Media Office said on Monday.

The court also ordered them to jointly pay a fine of more than Dh32 million and imposed a fine of Dh700,000 on the seven companies involved in the case.

It may also confiscate funds or assets belonging to the defendants to cover the fine, the media office said.

The gang stole the money by sending 118,000 phishing emails to victims and falsely impersonating banks and financial institutions with whom the victims had business relationships, said Ismail Madani, senior advocate general and head of the public funds prosecution.

The phishing emails requested the victims to transfer payments to the gang's accounts.

Later, the gang withdrew the money or transferred it to other accounts, while other members purchased used cars to conceal the illegally obtained funds.

“The UAE authorities spare no effort in combating such criminal activity and are fully committed to fighting money laundering, online crimes and scams that can have a potentially detrimental impact on the national economy,” Mr Madani said.

The UAE has passed strict laws to prevent money laundering and the financing of terrorism, and has issued a number of regulations over the years to clamp down on financial crimes.

The country issued fines of more than Dh115 million in the first quarter of the year to combat money laundering, state news agency Wam reported in April.

This was a sharp increase from the Dh76 million of last year.

The 161 fines were handed out to 76 entities in the first three months of 2023. Confiscations have also increased, with frozen assets surpassing a value of Dh925 million seized from November 2022 to February 2023.

Hamid Al Zaabi, director general of the Executive Office for anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT), told Wam his organisation was working closely with the Financial Action Task Force. He said the UAE was an important trade and investment hub and the federal government was working closely with authorities across the country and the private sector to ensure that all entities were implementing effective AML/CFT measures.

Last month, the UAE Central Bank issued new guidance on anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism for licensed financial institutions (LFIs) with a focus on the risks of dealing with virtual assets.