Dubai: A gang of three fraudsters was arrested in Dubai for cheating after one of them posed as the minister of an African country to scam an Imam at a mosque.
The Dubai Court of First Instance was told that the three defendants – two from Cameron and one from Uganda- claimed they have $25 million in “black paper bundles” and approached the victim as part of a doubling money scam.
The 45-year-old victim from Mauritania, a resident of Dubai for more than 20 years, said he was fluent in French and was helping the African men with translation. In October 2020, one of the defendants asked him to meet a former minister from Congo.
“I met the alleged minister at a shopping centre and he told me that he had $25 million. I had a doubt and alerted Dubai Police,” said the victim in official records.
Dubai Police set a trap in collaboration with the victim who met the gang inside a hotel in Bur Dubai. The gang then showed him a black paper and then sprayed some chemical on it, following which “dollar notes” emerged.
The victim was asked him to pay $5,000 to buy the chemical liquid to convert the rest of the money.
Dubai Police arrested the three defendants who admitted to committing fraud.
Dubai Public Prosecution has charged the trio with faking banknotes and attempted fraud.
The verdict will be issued on March 2.
