Al Ain court orders seller to repay Dh129,000 for counterfeit luxury watches

Abu Dhabi: A man who sold two luxury watches online as genuine, only for them to later be discovered as counterfeit, has been ordered by an Al Ain court to repay Dh129,000 and pay an additional Dh10,000 in compensation to the buyer.

The ruling was issued by the Al Ain Civil, Commercial and Administrative Court after the buyer filed a lawsuit claiming he had been deceived in what he described as a clear case of fraud.

According to Al Khaleej newspaper, the buyer came across an advertisement on social media offering two high-end watches for sale. After contacting the seller, the two agreed on a price and the buyer transferred the money to the seller’s bank account. It was only after receiving the watches that he discovered they were not authentic.

The buyer subsequently filed a criminal complaint, which resulted in the seller’s conviction, before pursuing a civil case to recover his money and seek compensation for the harm caused.

As part of the proceedings, the court appointed a financial expert from Abu Dhabi Judicial Department’s approved list to examine the transaction. The expert’s report confirmed that the deal had been conducted through WhatsApp messages exchanged between the two parties.

The report showed that the first watch was priced at Dh68,000 and paid in full, while the second was valued at Dh81,000, of which the buyer had transferred Dh48,000 through bank transfers. In total, the payments amounted to Dh129,000.

In its judgment, the court said the evidence clearly established that the watches sold were counterfeit and that the buyer had suffered not only financial loss but also moral harm as a result of the deception.

The court noted that the buyer experienced psychological distress after realising he had been defrauded, and that a direct causal link existed between the seller’s actions and the damage suffered.

Based on this, the court ordered the seller to repay the full amount paid for the watches and awarded Dh10,000 in moral damages, exercising its discretionary authority in assessing compensation.