Dubai car dealer arrested over price hike fraud plot

The Arab man is accused of selling cars at greatly inflated prices as part of an elaborate scheme to exploit newcomers to the country

Dubai Police arrested a man over a major car-dealing fraud plot. Pawan Singh / The National 

A Dubai man accused of defrauding residents out of large sums of cash in a car-dealing fraud plot was arrested by police.

He is accused of selling vehicles to men and women who were new to the Emirates at greatly inflated prices and pocketing the profit.

Police said the Arab man posed as a wealthy European, invited victims to parties and picked them up in luxury cars to win their trust.

Police took action after six people lodged complaints against the man.

“It was a complicated case given that the victims had signed documents [related to the purchase of cars],” said Col Mohammed Al Marri, deputy head of Al Rashidiya police station.

He said three other men helped the car dealer carry out the scam.

All four men were arrested.

Officers said in one instance that a female school employee paid Dh153,000 for a car she later found was valued at Dh42,000.

One man sold a high-end car through the dealer, who is accused of not transferring the money from its sale.

A second man paid Dh296,000 for a car he never received, police said.

A senior officer urged prospective buyers to be vigilant and do their research on the value of cars they plan to purchase before entering into a deal.

"Those buying cars need to carefully read the documents they sign and ensure the market value of the vehicles they are buying is verified to avoid falling victim to fraudsters," said Maj Gen Khalil Al Mansouri, assistant to the Dubai Police chief.