With the aim of avoiding the punishment for fraud

Gangs seize cars for sale with the "checks" ploy

Reports and cases pending by courts in the country revealed fraudsters who are professional in stealing cars by deceptive means to get away from the fraud crime, and turn it into a check case without balance.

Dubai Police arrested many suspects, the last of whom was a woman who carried out a number of these crimes, including seizing a car worth 300,000 dirhams, after luring its owner with a cash advance of 20,000 dirhams, and a fake check with the rest of the amount.

The Economic Crime Prevention Department has warned car owners who offer them for sale on electronic marketing sites of these crimes, pointing out that fraudsters are luring the victims by luring them into buying their vehicles for amounts that may exceed their real value.

She continued that the seller heads with the buyer to the registration centers, and there he is surprised that the "fraudulent" buyer offers him a check, claiming that he is unable to bring the return in cash, due to lack of time, and he deliberately executes the registration processes on Thursday evening, when the banks close their doors as the victim cannot be sure. Whether there is a balance or not, then he resells the car directly to a third party, to put its original owner into a legal maze.

Regarding the legal aspect of this crime, a first legal advisor, Wajih Amin Abdulaziz, stated that the elements of the crime of fraud, as defined in Article (399) of the Penal Code, are available by using fraudulent methods, taking a false name, or impersonating an incorrect characteristic that would be Deceiving the victim with a false project or a fraudulent incident, or creating hope in a fictitious profit, in order to induce him to surrender his money, and the perpetrator shall be punished by imprisonment or a fine, and for attempting it is punishable by imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years or by a fine not exceeding 20 thousand dirhams.

He pointed out that the elements of the crime of fraud are not available in the crimes of seizing cars in this way, because presenting a check with no balance, or refraining from paying its value, does not in itself constitute a fraud, as the accused inspecting the car and expressing his desire to buy it and give the victim a check of its value. As true, it is considered in its reality an abstract lie that does not fulfill the elements of the crime of fraud, unless it is accompanied by material acts and external manifestations that lead the victim to believe in his validity, and the perpetrators of these crimes are aware of this legal loophole and exploit it for their benefit.

And he called on the Emirati legislator to intervene to fill this gap, considering that the incident of handing over the check that does not have a balance in these crimes is one of the fraudulent means, as the accused intended to write a check and deliver it to the victim, with the aim of deceiving him into seizing his car, then reselling it to a bona fide third party.

Abdulaziz confirmed that the recent amendments to the Checks-Related Commercial Transactions Law according to Decree No. (14) of 2020, which will enter into force from January 2022, will act as a strong deterrent to anyone who is begging for himself to tamper with the use of checks in violation of the provisions of the law.

It is noteworthy that the Department of Combating Economic Crimes in the Dubai Police seized, during the past year, seven gangs that have professionally stolen cars with fraud, one of which is managed abroad by a person in charge of planning these fraudulent operations.

Return a stolen car

Work teams in the Department of Combating Economic Crimes in Dubai Police were able to retrieve a stolen car from a European who had been defrauded by a fake check, and he sought refuge in Dubai Police.

Upon informing the police, a working group was formed, and it was discovered that the car had been resold and hidden in an unknown location, so the accused were pursued and their steps followed, until it was found that they had forged its papers and took them outside the country.

The work teams determined the destination of the car, in coordination with the Customs Intelligence Department at Dubai Customs, and it was confirmed that it was on board a ship bound for a European country, so an urgent plan was prepared, and it was returned on board the same ship to the state.

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