Ukrainian gang sentenced to jail in Dubai over attempt to rob Dh500,000
Investor was lured to buy bitcoin before gang tried to snatch the cash from him
Dubai: The Dubai Court of First Instance has sentenced a group of men to two years in jail for an attempted Dh500,000 robbery from an investor as part of a fraudulent bitcoin transaction. The court ordered to deport the defendants after serving their jail sentence.
The four Ukrainian defendants aged between 28 and 34 years broke into an office in the Al Barsha area of Dubai and tried to steal the cash after attacking the investor and two of his friends.
A 33-year-old Egyptian witness, who was told by the investor and another person to join them in buying the cryptocurrency, said that he went to the office carrying Dh500,000 in cash in a bag. “A man told us to wait until the arrival of the bitcoin seller. As they were getting late, the victim told the man that they would leave, when the door suddenly opened and the four Ukrainian suspects came in, attacked the victim and tried to rob the money,” said the Egyptian witness.
The four defendants assaulted the victims and sprayed a deodorant directly on to the victims faces. The victims then raised an alarm, screaming “thieves ... thieves”, as a result of which, the attackers couldn’t rob the money. Dubai Police later arrested all the four defendants and they were charged with attempted robbery.