Abu Dhabi: The prosecutors in the capital have transferred a case against an emigration service agency to Abu Dhabi Police for further investigations, Gulf News has learnt.

An official at the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department (ADJD) told Gulf News that the financial prosecution at the department has asked the police to take statements of victims and the accused in the case and collect all possible materials of evidence from them.

As Gulf News reported on August 2, the closure of the office of the management consultancy located on Hamdan Street, which offered emigration services, raised suspicion of a scam among scores of its clients who paid thousands of dirhams to migrate to western countries. Most of the clients are low- to mid-level employees in the capital, who paid up to Dh25,000 to get a work permit or residency permit abroad.

Some of the victims had registered a complaint with the financial prosecution. A copy of the complaint obtained by Gulf News read that the Abu Dhabi-based emigration service agency was represented by four people, including an Emirati and two Indians.

The ADJD official said that after completing the investigations, the police will send the case back to the prosecution. Once the due procedures are completed by the prosecution, the case will be referred to the court for trial, said the official, who did not want to be identified. Abu Dhabi Police officials were not available for comments.

As Gulf News reported on August 3, the company had promised to refund the fee to some of its dissatisfied clients during the past few months over its failure to deliver results on time. The clients said that they had been visiting the office several times to collect the promised refund but each time, the staff convinced them to wait for some more time.

The mobile phones of Indian managing director and other staff members of the company remained switched off since its office was closed down.

The clients said although their dream to start a new a life in a developed country was shattered, at least now they wanted to get back their money. The company’s website claims it has been working in the field of immigration and education for more than five years.

“We deal in overseas education, domestic education and immigration for various countries and specialise in all types of visa for Australia, New Zealand, Denmark and Canada," it said.