Dubai targets financial crimes

May 19, 2013

Dubai_financial_crimes

Dubai, May 19: Financial crime that was detected in Dubai topped Dh200 million during last year and the first quarter of this year, according to Dubai Police’s General Department of Anti-Economic crime.

Department Director Major Salah Bu Osaiba said the police had arrested 371 suspects for involvement in those crimes — which relate to selling thousands of fake electronics and counterfeit products, using forged credit cards and money multiplication — with 130 cases coming in the first quarter of this year alone.

The General Department of Criminal Investigation Director Brigadier Khalil Ibrahim Al Mansouri said the economic department was providing protection to trademark owners who chose Dubai to be their regional hub, while the police were exerting tireless efforts to help companies which were harmed by the sale of counterfeit products. Damage came in terms of lost sales and damaged company reputations, he said.

Al Mansouri said Dubai’s reputation as a business hub attracted fraudsters interested in violating intellectual property rights, who had advanced technology which could produce high quality counterfeit products or defraud people through forged credit cards.

The police were trained to differentiate between fake and genuine products, he said. Despite the numbers, the figures actually represented a reduction in economic crimes, with money multiplication scams and counterfeit crime both down.

The police had recorded 130 economic crimes during the first quarter of the year, compared with 140 for the same period the previous year, with Al Mansouri attributing that to a decrease in the number of criminals plying their trade here, including a smaller number of sources importing fake products.

Popular counterfeit products, not surprisingly, include the iconic Apple technology devices, many of which had been found in the Naif area, he said.

Al Mansouri revealed the Anti-Economic Crime Department had arrested three Nigerians and three Indians, while the police were chasing a fourth African, on charges of possession of forged credit cards. The police received information that the suspects had purchased electronic appliances from a shop in Al Khaleej Al Tijari area, using forged credit cards.

The Indian owner of the electronic shop told the police that in February, two Africans and an Indian had wanted to purchase phones worth Dh71,540 using two forged credit cards. However, he said he could not deliver the goods as the men wanted such large quantities of material that the shop needed time to get the products. On the same day, the shop received an e-mail from the bank notifying staff that the two cards were forged.

A salesman at the same shop told the police that was not the first time the men had visited the store, with one of the Indian men calling the salesman in January, telling him there was a client who wanted to buy goods with credit cards. The next day the man came with an associate to the shop with the pair requesting iPhones and Samsung phones worth Dh53,000, which they purchased. The salesman told the police that he had not received any notification from the bank at the time.

The police set a trap to arrest the suspects when they returned to the store to collect the phones worth Dh71,540 they had previously purchased. Other suspects were arrested in other areas of Dubai, many of them fiercely resisting arrest before attributing the forged credit cards to other suspects among the group. One suspect confessed to owning the forged credit cards, but said he had received them from other people and was only to receive five per cent of the total profit.

During raids on the various flats of the suspects, the police seized seven forged credit cards.

Conterfeit goods

The Anti-Economic Crime Department has arrested the manager of a company for selling counterfeit products, in the Naif area.

Police officials received information that a company, located near Maktoum Hospital which had warehouses in Al Qusais area, was selling fake Philips and Osram products. The products were stored in warehouses, in violation of trademark laws which harmed accredited agencies in the country.

After verifying the tip-off, the police got permission from the Public Prosecution and raided the shops and warehouses of the company. The company manager was taken by the police for interrogation, where he confessed that he owned the products. The police sent a sample to their forensic laboratory to confirm the products were fake, while the manager was released on bail. The products in contention are being held by the police.

In a second case, the police arrested a Chinese national and two Bangladeshi nationals after receiving information that a company located in the Naif area, opposite Hyatt Regency hotel, was selling fake Apple products including iPhones and accessories. After verifying information, the police took legal action and raided the company. This started a string of accusations that the fake goods had come from another company. The police set up a trap with a representative from another company in January, and told him they wanted to buy 500 phones, coming to the value of Dh123,000 — giving a down payment of Dh2,000. An invoice was issued, and a time for the delivery of the phones was specified. The police then raided the shop and arrested several more suspects, who in turn pointed the finger at a company called Momo International Electronics, based in Naif. The police then raided this company, where they seized 108 iPhones which were lying unpacked, without their cartons, alongside 1,100 empty cartons. The suspect told the police that the company was close to a flat, which was then also raided leading to the seizure of another 340 iPhones. The police have sent a number of the seized goods to the police forensic laboratory to verify whether the goods were counterfeit.

The General Department of Criminal Investigation Director Brigadier Khalil Ibrahim Al Mansouri said the economic department was providing protection to trademark owners who chose Dubai to be their regional hub, while the police were exerting tireless efforts to help companies which were harmed by the sale of counterfeit products. Damage came in terms of lost sales and damaged company reputations, he said.

Al Mansouri said Dubai’s reputation as a business hub attracted fraudsters interested in violating intellectual property rights, who had advanced technology which could produce high quality counterfeit products or defraud people through forged credit cards.

The police were trained to differentiate between fake and genuine products, he said. Despite the numbers, the figures actually represented a reduction in economic crimes, with money multiplication scams and counterfeit crime both down.

The police had recorded 130 economic crimes during the first quarter of the year, compared with 140 for the same period the previous year, with Al Mansouri attributing that to a decrease in the number of criminals plying their trade here, including a smaller number of sources importing fake products.

Popular counterfeit products, not surprisingly, include the iconic Apple technology devices, many of which had been found in the Naif area, he said.

Al Mansouri revealed the Anti-Economic Crime Department had arrested three Nigerians and three Indians, while the police were chasing a fourth African, on charges of possession of forged credit cards. The police received information that the suspects had purchased electronic appliances from a shop in Al Khaleej Al Tijari area, using forged credit cards.

The Indian owner of the electronic shop told the police that in February, two Africans and an Indian had wanted to purchase phones worth Dh71,540 using two forged credit cards. However, he said he could not deliver the goods as the men wanted such large quantities of material that the shop needed time to get the products. On the same day, the shop received an e-mail from the bank notifying staff that the two cards were forged.

A salesman at the same shop told the police that was not the first time the men had visited the store, with one of the Indian men calling the salesman in January, telling him there was a client who wanted to buy goods with credit cards. The next day the man came with an associate to the shop with the pair requesting iPhones and Samsung phones worth Dh53,000, which they purchased. The salesman told the police that he had not received any notification from the bank at the time.

The police set a trap to arrest the suspects when they returned to the store to collect the phones worth Dh71,540 they had previously purchased. Other suspects were arrested in other areas of Dubai, many of them fiercely resisting arrest before attributing the forged credit cards to other suspects among the group. One suspect confessed to owning the forged credit cards, but said he had received them from other people and was only to receive five per cent of the total profit.

During raids on the various flats of the suspects, the police seized seven forged credit cards.

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News Network
April 30,2020

Riyadh, Apr 30: Saudi Arabia on Thursday recorded 1,351 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 22,753, the Ministry of Health said in a statement.

The ministry also announced 5 more deaths and 210 new recoveries, raising the total number of fatalities and recoveries to 162 and 3,163 respectively.

Riyadh with 440 cases topped the list, followed by 392 cases in Makkah, 120 in Jeddah and 119 in Madinah.

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News Network
May 21,2020

May 21: Mosques across the UAE will remain closed during Eid Al Fitr, a top official has said. The Takbeer, which is chanted before the special prayers performed on Eid, will be broadcast from mosques 10 minutes before the prayer time.

During the virtual press briefing held on Wednesday, Dr Farida Al Hosani, official spokesperson of the UAE health sector, reminded citizens and expats about the importance of adhering to the safety measures as laid out by the authorities.

Contact tracing process

"Before we began to use Al Hosn app to trace the contacts of Covid-19 cases, the tracking process used to take more than 48 hours. It also depended on the memory and honesty of people. The app is an AI-enabled methodological way to trace individuals who came in contact with Covid-19 cases so that they are isolated. It has proven to be an efficient way to stop the spread of the coronavirus," Dr Farida said.

Install the app

She called on all the public to install the app on their smart phones. "The success of the tracing system via Al Hosn app relies on its use. We hope 50 to 70 per cent of people in the UAE instal and use the app in an effective way."

No sermon

Sheikh Abdul Rahman Al Shamsi, Spokesperson for the General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowments, said there will be no sermon for the Eid prayers.

He called on everyone to welcome Eid with joy and positivity and to stay connected with their loved ones via social media.

Mass testing

Dr Amna Al Dahhak Al Shamsi, the official spokesperson of the UAE Government, said mass testing continues across the country.

She stressed on the importance of adhering to precautionary measures and cooperating with the authorities.

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Agencies
June 28,2020

Kuwait, Jun 28: Measures imposed to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus in Kuwait are believed to have increased suicide cases in the country, according to a media report.

Forty suicide cases and 15 failed attempts, mainly among Asian expatriates, have been recorded in Kuwait since late February, Gulf News quoted the Al Qabas newspaper report, citing sources as saying on Saturday.

Investigations into the majority of cases have revealed that those who committed suicide had experienced psychological and economic troubles due to dire financial circumstances after their employers stopped to pay them as a result of economic fallout from the coronavirus-related measures.

In one case, an expat livestreamed his suicide while chatting with his fiancee on a social networking platform, the newspaper report said.

Suicide cases have increased by around 40 per cent since the start of the COVID-19 crisis, according to the sources.

Some 70 to 80 suicide cases are recorded annually in Kuwait. Last year, they reached 80 suicides against 77 in 2018.

"Suicide cases have started to go up in Kuwait during the coronavirus pandemic due to fear, anxiety, isolation and instability experienced by people and absence of daily aims that could help the person to spend time regularly as before," the newspaper quoted social psychology consultant Samira Al Dosari as saying.

Uncertainty for some expatriates, whose countries have refused to take them in, is another motive for attempting suicide, according to Jamil Al Muri, a sociology professor at the Kuwait University.

"This is in addition to greed of the iqamat traders, who have brought into the country workers in names of phantom companies and abandoned them on the streets," he added.

Starting from Tuesday, Kuwait will embark on the second phase of a stepwise plan to bring life to normal, Gulf News reportd.

According to Phase 2, a nationwide night-time curfew will be reduced by one hour to run daily from 8 p.m. until 5 a.m. for three weeks.

Kuwait has so far reported 44,391 COVID-19 cases, with 344 deaths.

Comments

Angry indian
 - 
Tuesday, 30 Jun 2020

YA ALLah save all dispressed people in the earth..

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