UAE: Imprisonment, minimum Dh250,000 fine for electronic extortion, Public Prosecution warns

Abu Dhabi: Public Prosecution, through a tweet published today on its social media account, has clarified the penalty for the crime of electronic extortion.

In accordance with Article 16 of the Federal Decree-Law No 5 of 2021, concerning the combatting crimes related to information technology (IT), Public Prosecution said: “Whoever blackmails or threatens another person to urge him to perform an act or to refrain from performing an act using the World Wide Web or means on information technology shall be sentenced to imprisonment for a duration of not more than two years and/or fined a monetary penalty of not less than Dh250,000 and not more than Dh500,000. The penalty shall be imprisonment for a duration of not more than ten years if it is a threat to commit a crime or to commit acts that are offensive to honour or status.”