Residents and residents said they lost their money as a result of investing in an encrypted currency called Farad, which was launched in the UAE through an exclusive local agent in 2017. They said they knew about the currency, according to a daily newspaper before the end of 2017 , Pointing out that the promoters of this «currency» informed them that it is the first digital currency, with concrete products, the production lines for UAVs and electric cars in a major Asian country. Emirates Al-Youm tried to communicate with the chairman of the board, the company's general manager, who was described as the local agent of Farad. However, the response was that "the phone is not currently used."

Emirates Al-Youm received a number of contacts yesterday, following the publication of a topic about the exposure of citizens to lose their money in encrypted currencies.

According to citizens and residents, over the course of a year and a half, the company has continued to create new subscriptions, which it advertises with various names and groups on the Internet, and when they try to intervene to warn new victims, block them through social media.

The Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) said it has warned against dealing with companies that promote coded currencies of all kinds, in addition to subscribing to them, asserting that their authority and responsibility do not extend to the free financial zones in the country. She noted that she is considering the regulation of digital asset issues only, not digital and encrypted currencies, but it is still under study.

Local Company

In a statement published in a daily newspaper in August 2017, the investor said that he had read a news story in August 2007 about a local company launching the first digital currency in the UAE called Farad, , He and his company, and visited its headquarters in Dubai, next to its branch in Abu Dhabi, and invested $ 10,000 in October 2017, deposited in the account in the name of the company in a local bank, to buy the currency at 12 cents, hoping to rise to $ 20 cents after Five months, as staff at the company told him.

He said he convinced a number of his friends, who also invested between $ 5 and $ 10,000, and then found that they were victims of a monument. The company was closed, phone numbers changed, and the site they said belonged to the company was also closed.

Digital Coins

"I have a passion for digital currencies, I read a lot about them, I was reassured when I saw a company working in the UAE in 2017, and it was announced in a daily newspaper," she said. "The company's employees informed them that the subscription was in order to finance the expansion of existing production lines for UAVs and electric cars. They gave a brief presentation and video, so the dealers were reassured in terms of legality and thought it was an appropriate opportunity to invest."

"We have contacted the company, met with its employees at its headquarters, and are committed to injecting AED 300 thousand at the end of 2017. The unit price was 13 cents and is expected to rise to $ 45 cents after launching on the international market, To trade globally, and is also expected to rise after 2020 to reach $ 40 ».

"After the investment was made, the company changed its phone numbers, closed the offices, and we can no longer communicate with them," she said, adding that one of the company's employees from the UAE said he was the exclusive agent of a company operating abroad. "They did not just do that, but they did three similar coups inside the country, through other sites, and with different names. When we entered to warn the dealers, the page administrator on social media (the addicted) prevented us."

In the same context, the resident (Salah.N) said that he "trusted the company after a big turnout, having a bank account in a local bank, depositing $ 10,000 and bringing five of his friends for the same purpose until he discovered that it was a monument, .

Unauthorized destinations

For its part, the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) has warned over the past two years of dealing with unlicensed and irregular entities in terms of investment. It warned against dealing in coded currencies, asserting that its authority and responsibility does not extend to the free financial zones in the country, There are regulatory bodies that supervise, regulate and control these areas.

The TRA pointed out that there are a large number of warnings published on its website, concerning these companies, calling on investors to make sure to deal with licensed and regulatory entities in the field of collecting and investing money.

The TRA revealed that it was working on organizing digital asset issuances only, not digital and encrypted. The Board of Directors of the Authority approved a plan to regulate the issuance of digital assets and to recognize them as digital securities.

She said that the system or decision that would regulate the issuance of digital assets would be prepared and issued in accordance with the timetable contained in the strategic and operational plan of the Authority.

Numbers to communicate .. and «central» does not answer

Emirates Today has contact numbers for a number of investors who have been exposed to the company, while trying to get answers from the Central Bank on the follow-up of such cases, but could not get a response until the end of yesterday.

Emirates Al-Youm tried to contact the company's agent in the UAE, but did not respond, as did the company's landline numbers posted on its website. The number was not currently used.

Legal calls on those affected to open communications in the relevant police stations

"Electronic encoded currencies are generally anonymous and are traded only on the Internet. They are different from traditional currencies. They can be replaced by other currencies, products and services. They are not governed by any legal or banking system, and may be intended to be used," lawyer and legal advisor Mohammed Ahmed Al-Saadi said. Money laundering, funding of terrorist organizations and drug gangs. The crime of fraud may occur through dealing with this currency and other crimes. "

"If the defendant has no address in the state, and the crime is committed within the state, and the defendant committed the crime from outside the state, the investigating authorities shall be competent to investigate the crime. The State shall have the right to submit all data and information to the defendant and to the investigating parties and to request judicial assistance from the location of the presence of the Defendant outside the State, to inquire about him and to request his data. Defendant through Inter International well, and my advice is to avoid dealing with this currency, being an unknown source, nor governed by any legal system ».