Gang in Dubai convicted over Dh10 million Bitcoin scam

More than 180 victims across the UAE were targeted following a social media advertisement campaign

The group convinced victims to hand over savings after promising they would 'double their money' in crypto investments. Reuters

Fraudsters who ran an elaborate Bitcoin scam in Dubai worth Dh10 million have been fined more than Dh321,000 each.

The Dubai Criminal Court heard how the gang – that comprised one Pakistani national and six Bangladesh nationals – posted videos on TikTok about mining and investing in cryptocurrency.

The group – aged between 24 and 46 – targeted 180 victims in the UAE, who reported the scam to Al Muraqqabat Police Station in December.

The men, who avoided jail sentences, were fined for illegally obtaining the money.

In addition, they were each fined Dh20,000 for practising virtual assets work without obtaining a license from concerned authorities.

The court heard how the group defrauded five people out of Dh321,000 after promising to double their money by investing in a crypto wallet.

Court records show that the group made social media advertisements promoting three companies investing in Bitcoin.

Two of those convicted appeared in TikTok videos encouraging people to invest their money in Bitcoin mining and exchange.

"Around 180 people came to the police station to make complaints about being scammed by the suspects," a policeman said.

"They were promised with daily and monthly profits by investing in cryptocurrency," he added.

He said the group distributed a sum of money to the victims to make the scam seem more legitimate and lure in more victims.

The victims, who were mainly from Bangladesh, were told by the group to come to a company in Deira to get their profit. However, upon arrival, the company doors were closed.

Two of the group were arrested on the UAE-Oman border as they were trying to escape.

Police then discovered the company had a commercial license and was not authorised for cryptocurrency transactions.

"I went to the company after watching the ads and videos. I gave Dh200,000 to the company's accountant to invest in cryptocurrency and get a massive profit," said one of the victims.

"I didn't get any profit from the company."

The police said it is expecting more cases to come to court.

A report by the Anti-Economic Crime Department attached to the court records confirmed the gang defrauded 3,000 victims in Bangladesh.

The force said it is still working to gather all complaints received from the country in one file to present it to the court.

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