Abu Dhabi Police has exposed a huge car scam and arrested 54 people who were running an illegal investment business in the UAE. The AED 2.3 billion car scam that affected 3,700 people, lured investors into buying and selling cars while assuring them of substantial profits. There are serious allegations of money laundering, fraud and operating multiple businesses without a license against the arrested gang members who have been sent to criminal courts for further investigation.
How was the Car Scam exposed?
A member of the gang involved in this massive car scam was arrested back in March 2017, after Police received fraud-related complaints from 400 investors in just five days. The detention of the gang member could only be made possible after a six months probe into the matter. Since then, the Abu Dhabi Police expanded the scope of its investigation and eventually arrested 54 people who were running an illegal investment business in the UAE. Most of the defendants were Emiratis, while others belonged to different nationalities. It has been revealed in the investigations that many accused were also working as the agents of defendants.
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Details of the Scam
According to Abu Dhabi Police, 423 vehicles were seized in different showrooms of the arrested gang, while 3,700 cheques were taken into custody. According to prosecutors, a total of AED 53 million was recovered from showrooms and homes of the gang members and their multiple bank accounts with another AED 100 million were seized.
The accused fraudsters presented themselves as car dealers and urged people to first buy cars from them and later sell their used cars to them in order to earn big profits. Investors were promised 100% profits (which were finally limited to 70%-80%) and were lured into buying and selling cars to the gang. The promised benefits were delivered to few investors in the beginning, which built the trust of other investors and then a number of people invested heavily in this scam.
One of the accused admitted during the investigation that it was an unlicensed investment business that was run with fraudulent intentions. The scam had its well-planned modus operandi and the accused used to issue bogus and post-dated cheques to the investors. Later, the accused gang would take the possession of the investor’s money, which was used for buying properties, luxury vehicles and special car numbers. A number of members of the gang also bought shares and one of them even bought a camel worth AED 10 million from the money of investors.
Also read: Car Selling Frauds Rise as Con men Trick Sellers with Dud Cheques in Dubai
Penalties for Frauds and Scams in the UAE
The penal code of the UAE deals with frauds and scams very severely and there is a three years jail penalty for offenders involved in fraudulent activities. The penalties for money-laundering are even tougher and the accused can face jail-time up to 10 years for this crime.
How to Avoid Fraudulent Car Dealers and Car Scams in the UAE
The automotive market of the UAE is highly diverse and car dealers sell and buy a variety of new and used car. While there are licensed car dealers who are highly reliable to sell or buy a used car from in the UAE, there are also some fraudsters who show themselves as car dealers, but they actually don’t have a license to work legally.
Selling a car to car dealers who fake their identity can have dangerous consequences, as it happened in the recent scam. Investors were deprived of all their money and this is something people in the UAE should be watchful of while making a decision to sell or buy used cars.
The element of susceptibility towards fraudulent deals is higher for people who don’t have any prior experience of buying or selling a used car to dealers. In order to avoid car selling and buying frauds at the hands of fake car dealers, it is important to check and validate the legal identity of these dealers.
Listed below are the tips to spot a fraudulent car dealer:
- Fake or unlicensed dealers show their 24/7 availability to win the trust of customers. In reality, they do it because they don’t run a legal dealership.
- Fake dealers usually don’t let you test drive a car when you buy a car from them. If you are selling your car to them, they will not accept your request for a test drive. It is an indicator of a fraudulent deal.
- Fake car dealers won’t allow you to get a car mechanically checked before buying it. Even if they agree, they will take you to their own mechanic who will also be a part of their fake network. If you are selling your car to an unlicensed dealer, the dealer will never ask for maintenance checkup of your car and push you for an immediate car sale. This is how such dealers trick the innocent sellers.
- If you ask for a legal certificate or any other legal document to verify their identity, fake dealers would never be comfortable with it and will never show you anything. You should never continue any deal with such dealers.
Also read: The Best Way to Sell a Used Car in the UAE and Avoid Fraudulent Car Buyers
Remain Watchful while Selling or Buying Used Cars in the UAE
Professional licensed dealers can be an option for buying a used car, but for selling a used car, there is another better and safer option available for car sellers in the UAE. The best way to sell a used car in the UAE is to sell it to a specialist car buying company like “SellAnyCar.com,” which is the largest car buying company in the UAE.
The highly transparent, reliable and systematic approach of SellAnyCar.com allows car sellers to sell any car in a hassle-free way without wasting any time. SellAnyCar.com has a nationwide network in the UAE and with more than 300 global partners, the company promises a guaranteed purchase of any car regardless of its condition, make, model or age.
The entire car selling process takes just 30 minutes and SellAnyCar.com’s team handles all the post-sales paperwork to make car selling easier for the sellers. Payments against used cars are made after the title transfer of the vehicle and all payments are delivered in a secure manner through electronic bank transfer. Car sellers can keep themselves away from all frauds and scams by selling their used car to SellAnyCar.com.
If you are looking to sell your used car in a safe and reliable way, then don’t forget that with us you can sell your used car in just 30 minutes while all the post-sale paperwork is handled by SellAnyCar.com’s team.
