Abu Dhabi: A Saudi man is standing trial in four courts simultaneously for defrauding unsuspecting people of 350 million riyals (Dh343 million) and money laundering, local media reported.
The scammer, in custody along with two other Saudis and a Syrian, allegedly collected the money from a number of potential investors, for investment on international bourses, e-commerce and trade of gold, silver, currencies, oil and precious stones, Okaz reported.
The accused has a criminal record, led a life of obscene wealth, collected more than 350 million riyals with the help of others, rented a residence and an office for one million riyals annually in one of the towers on the Jeddah Corniche, and owned more than 20 luxury cars with a total value of more than 40 million riyals, according to court records.
Investigations revealed that the accused’s chauffeur worked as an assistant for collecting and investing money, earning 15,000 riyals per day, or 450,000 riyals a month.
The accused, detained in a Jeddah prison, sought help from a number of accountants, consultants and administrators to invest money, and allocated each of them a monthly salary of more than 50,000 riyals.
The man began collecting sums from investors on weekdays, taking from his residence in a seafront tower as the headquarters of his activity, and continued to use more than 10 luxury cars, offering investors attractive daily payments of one million riyals distributed to more than 200 customers and spending generously on charities.
According to the court records, a group of victims filed complaints with the police after the defendant failed to pay them their promised daily profits.
The accused invested money mainly in the global stock markets, trade of gold, silver, currencies, oil and precious stones, and he allegedly admitted his daily deals were generating profits of 10 per cent for each client.
The Public Prosecution questioned all the participants in the activity, and the personal driver of the accused said he was getting 15,000 per day, in addition to 10 per cent in a commission, when attracting any client. Investigations also revealed that the number of clients reached 1,000, and the accused rented a villa for SR750,000 per year. He also rented a luxury apartment for SR350,000.
He continued to seek help from administrators and accountants with the expansion of his activities, while granting them allowances for the costs of their children’s studies abroad, and paying the rent of their homes in the amount of 150,000 riyals annually.
The man also claimed that he had a permit from a Gulf country in financial brokerage, a commercial register, and licenses for e-commerce and information technology, according to court records.
