Dubai: An Indian businessman wanted on fraud charges running into hundreds of millions of dirhams in bounced cheques in the United Arab Emirates was lured back to Dubai by police under the ruse that he could make more money in a quick-grab deal, said authorities on Tuesday.
The unidentified suspect, police said, had fled the country after writing Dh624 million in cheques he could not financially back and he was arrested when he returned to Dubai International Airport.
Brigadier Ahmad Bin Galita, director of Rafaa police station, said the businessman has a company that specialises in petroleum products in the UAE.
Police said he was hiding for a month in India.
The suspect bought petroleum products from three major companies in Dubai and shipped them to his country using dodgy cheques.
“He had a business with about Dh1 billion [in transactions] with the companies in the past and paid it at the time. He issued three cheques worth Dh624 million before the New Year vacation knowing the banks would be closed and the companies won’t know he had no credit in his account,” Brig Bin Galita said.
The suspect left the country and after the vacation, the cheques bounced.
“We were alerted that he was coming back to the country for another business deal and arrested him on arrival at Dubai International Airport,” Brig Bin Galita said.
According to police, the suspect told officers that he had some troubles in his business and couldn’t honour the cheques.
He was referred to Dubai Public Prosecution for further action.
He was charged with fraud.
Rafaa police have a special team of officers called ‘Rafaa Eagles’, who are specialised in tracking wanted people, especially the ones involved in financial crimes.
“The team of eight officers has solved many financial crimes and arrested wanted suspects in bounced cheque cases worth a large amount of money. The majority of cases in the Rafaa station are about bounced cheques because it is a commercial area so we decided to create the team,” Brigadier Bin Galita said.
