Fraud squad: Dealing with financial crimes

Financial crimes have jumped over 100 per cent in the first quarter of this year compared with the same period in 2008, a senior Dubai Police official has said.

The increase in bounced cheques, loan and credit card default cases is being answered with a measured police response and the emerging trend is well within the control of authorities, said Colonel Khalil Ebrahim Al Mansouri, Head of the General Department of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

In an exclusive interview with XPRESS, he said: “The cases of unpaid credit card bills and loans, financial fraud and bounced cheque cases are on the increase but there is no alarm. This increase doesn't indicate a pattern and everything is under control.''

This year, 574 expatriates and Emiratis were arrested for various charges like failure to clear credit card bills or repay loans and bounced cheques, he said. The police recorded a total of 16,559 financial cases in the first quarter of 2009 compared with 8,265 during the same period of 2008, he said.

The total number of financial crime cases included bounced cheques complaints totalling 11,440 in the first quarter of 2009 in comparison with 6,462 during the same period in 2008.

Still full of life

Despite the numbers, Al Mansouri dismissed “rumours'' that a large number of expatriates are financially broke, that many companies have gone bankrupt or that expatriates are leaving the country in large numbers.

“We can't deny that there are some cases (of financial crimes) but Dubai is still full of life and those who say that expatriates are leaving the country because they can't take care of their financial liabilities are wrong,'' Al Mansouri said.

In February, seven companies confirmed total job losses of 3,500 workers in Dubai, but unofficial estimates put this at between 15,000 and 20,000 as of March, 2009.

Police denied international media reports that jails in the emirate are overflowing with expatriates who have defaulted on bank loans or credit card payments. “We do arrest people involved in financial crime but it is not that big a number and our prison is empty.''

Major General Mohammad Ahmad Al Merri, Director General of Dubai Naturalisation and Residency Department (DNRD), recently announced that more than 66,000 new residency visas were issued during the first two months of 2009 while 44,000 were cancelled.

“Those who left the country leaving all their belongings behind are those who built their lives on a fragile base and were greedy and in a hurry to acquire wealth,'' the CID chief said.

However, this cannot be said about those hard-working expatriates who invested in this country and created jobs, he said.

On chasing wanted expatriates who have left the UAE after defaulting on credit card or loan payments, Al Mansouri said Dubai Police have not approached Interpol in this regard but will do so if the banks seek help. “Yes, we have complaints inside the country against expatriates and Emiratis but we are managing and solving the cases and sometimes detaining the suspects,'' Al Mansouri said.

Same procedure

Al Mansouri denied that Dubai police have changed procedures against financial crimes in response to the growing number of cases.

“Our procedures are still the same and whatever the amount is – Dh200 or millions – it is the same,'' said Al Mansouri.

He categorically denied reports that police are refusing to investigate default cases where the amount involved is less than Dh100,000 and that the police have set a quota of ten cases per bank because of the growing number of defaulters.

“Anyone who has a bounced cheque can go to any police station and file a complaint,'' he said.

“Dubai Police will contact the cheque issuer to reach a compromise between the two parties before filing a formal case.

“If a settlement can't be reached, the complaint will be registered as a case and transferred to the public prosecution and later the court.

“We are very strict and sometimes lenient in our procedures as we try to protect the rights of affected parties.''

Al Mansouri said Dubai Police don't arrest bad cheque issuers immediately. “[We prefer to] release them after they sign an undertaking or leave their passports. Even if the complaint involves a big amount, if the accused has been in the country for a long time with a clean record and good business, we release him as soon as possible. We try to schedule the payment,'' he said.

No crimes left unsolved

Dubai is not a global hotbed of crime despite a run of bad press regarding some high profile cases of late, said Colonel Khalil Ebrahim Al Mansouri, Head of the General Department of Criminal Investigation Department.

“Although there are a few organised crimes that took place in the country Dubai is not a hub for organised crime,'' Al Mansouri said.

Dubai Police, for example, quickly solved the March 28 murder of Chechen rebel leader Sulim Yamadayev at Jumeirah Beach Residence as they did last year's killing of Lebanese singer Suzan Tamim. Police also discovered the culprits behind the daring daylight Wafi robbery.

Safest city

“With these examples, Dubai will be the last station for criminals to achieve their targets,'' Al Mansouri said.

“We can't guess when, where and why a crime will happen. Moreover, we can't connect Dubai's openness and boom to the possibility of organised crime taking place.''

Al Mansouri said that murder is one of the most complicated crimes to decipher, especially if it is organised. “Dubai is one of the safest cities worldwide and we do our best to prevent such crimes. However, a murder is a dispute between two parties and done by unstable people whom we can't control but we do our best to learn the reasons behind crimes,'' he said.

Dubai Police fully support their criminal investigators with continued education programmes and international study sessions.

Criminals will always “leave traces of evidence. Sometimes people don't help but evidence does''.

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