Dubai court uncovers Dh5.2 million asset-hiding scheme involving entire family

A Civil Court in Dubai has ordered a woman and several members of her family to pay Dh100,000 in compensation after ruling that they colluded to conceal her assets, including property, vehicles and premium number plates, to prevent the enforcement of a final judgment worth Dh5.2 million.

According to Emarat Al Youm, the ruling followed the creditor’s discovery that the woman, against whom he had secured a final judgment over a bounced cheque, had systematically transferred her assets to her mother, brothers and sister. These transfers stripped the plaintiff of any assets that could be seized to satisfy the judgment.

In detail, an Arab man filed a civil lawsuit against a woman of the same nationality, as well as her mother and siblings, requesting that they be held jointly liable to pay Dh4,191,000 in compensation for the harm he suffered as a result of the first defendant smuggling her assets and disposing of her property in bad faith to prevent the enforcement of an earlier judgment issued in his favour worth Dh5.2 million.

According to case records, the Arab claimant said he was shocked to find that, upon initiating enforcement procedures, the woman had moved ownership of apartments, vehicles and special number plates to her relatives, in addition to giving up her share of her late father’s estate. He argued that these were deliberate attempts to “smuggle assets”, noting that the relatives later sold the gifted assets despite knowing that a lawsuit challenging the transactions was already pending.

After a separate court had already ruled that the transfers were void, the creditor attempted to open a new enforcement file, only to discover that the assets had been sold on, leaving no property to seize. This prompted him to file a civil claim for damages.

In court, the defendants argued that they had no legal standing in the case, but the judge rejected this, ruling that anyone who participates in harmful acts bears secondary liability. The court relied on findings from the earlier judgment, which confirmed the woman had transferred assets in bad faith to prejudice the creditor’s rights, and that her relatives knowingly participated.

The judge held that these actions amounted to a wrongful act under the Civil Transactions Law, depriving the claimant of his lawful entitlement and causing him both financial losses and emotional hardship after years of litigation.

The court ordered the woman and her relatives, jointly, to pay Dh100,000 in full compensation, plus 5 per cent annual interest from the date the judgment becomes final, as well as court fees, expenses and Dh1,000 for legal costs.