‘Fake investor tried to con Dubai single mother into putting up Dh200,000 for sham business’



DUBAI // Three men are accused of fraud after one of them allegedly posed on LinkedIn as an Iraq veteran American soldier looking to invest in Dubai.

Metra Ibrahim Madani, Bur Dubai’s prosecutor, said the conman singled out a woman who lives in Dubai on the career-focused social media platform and convinced her that he was investing US$4.2 million (Dh15.4m) in Dubai but needed a partner from the emirate to pay fees of up to Dh200,000 to authorities.

Ms Madani said the woman reported the case to CID after being asked to transfer money amounting to Dh200,000 to a man she was given details of by the fraud soldier.

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“The CID investigation team managed to identify one of the defendants and, during questioning, he tipped his accomplices, who turned out to be African nationals. One of them whose mobile number was used to log into LinkedIn said that a friend asked to use his phone and number for a while and paid him Dh3,000 in return,” said Ms Madani.

The victim, a single mother, told prosecutors that the defendant who posed as an American soldier spoke to her for hours each day to convince her to put up money for what she believed was a profitable business that could help her raise her children.

“My husband abandoned me and my children and the soldier kept telling me about his life and memories from his days at war. He eventually gained my trust,” said the woman, whose nationality and aged were not given.

The three men involved were charged with fraud and will soon appear at Dubai Criminal Court.

salamir@thenational.ae

Sreesanth's India bowling career

Tests 27, Wickets 87, Average 37.59, Best 5-40

ODIs 53, Wickets 75, Average 33.44, Best 6-55

T20Is 10, Wickets 7, Average 41.14, Best 2-12

Tree of Hell

Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla

Director: Raed Zeno

Rating: 4/5

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Day 5, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance

Moment of the day When Dilruwan Perera dismissed Yasir Shah to end Pakistan’s limp resistance, the Sri Lankans charged around the field with the fevered delirium of a side not used to winning. Trouble was, they had not. The delivery was deemed a no ball. Sri Lanka had a nervy wait, but it was merely a stay of execution for the beleaguered hosts.

Stat of the day – 5 Pakistan have lost all 10 wickets on the fifth day of a Test five times since the start of 2016. It is an alarming departure for a side who had apparently erased regular collapses from their resume. “The only thing I can say, it’s not a mitigating excuse at all, but that’s a young batting line up, obviously trying to find their way,” said Mickey Arthur, Pakistan’s coach.

The verdict Test matches in the UAE are known for speeding up on the last two days, but this was extreme. The first two innings of this Test took 11 sessions to complete. The remaining two were done in less than four. The nature of Pakistan’s capitulation at the end showed just how difficult the transition is going to be in the post Misbah-ul-Haq era.

UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

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Director: Todd Phillips 

Rating: 2/5

The specs: 2018 Bentley Bentayga V8

Price, base: Dh853,226

Engine: 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8

Transmission: Eight-speed automatic

Power: 550hp @ 6,000pm

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Fuel economy, combined: 11.4L / 100km

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THE SPECS

Range Rover Sport Autobiography Dynamic

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APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)

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England's Ashes squad

Joe Root (captain), Moeen Ali, Jimmy Anderson, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Joe Denly, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes. 

At a glance - Zayed Sustainability Prize 2020

Launched: 2008

Categories: Health, energy, water, food, global high schools

Prize: Dh2.2 million (Dh360,000 for global high schools category)

Winners’ announcement: Monday, January 13

 

Impact in numbers

335 million people positively impacted by projects

430,000 jobs created

10 million people given access to clean and affordable drinking water

50 million homes powered by renewable energy

6.5 billion litres of water saved

26 million school children given solar lighting

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Kalra's feat
  • Becomes fifth batsman to score century in U19 final
  • Becomes second Indian to score century in U19 final after Unmukt Chand in 2012
  • Scored 122 in youth Test on tour of England
  • Bought by Delhi Daredevils for base price of two million Indian rupees (Dh115,000) in 2018 IPL auction
FIXTURES

Nov 04-05: v Western Australia XI, Perth
Nov 08-11: v Cricket Australia XI, Adelaide
Nov 15-18 v Cricket Australia XI, Townsville (d/n)
Nov 23-27: 1ST TEST v AUSTRALIA, Brisbane
Dec 02-06: 2ND TEST v AUSTRALIA, Adelaide (d/n)
Dec 09-10: v Cricket Australia XI, Perth
Dec 14-18: 3RD TEST v AUSTRALIA, Perth
Dec 26-30 4TH TEST v AUSTRALIA, Melbourne
Jan 04-08: 5TH TEST v AUSTRALIA, Sydney

Note: d/n = day/night


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