Dubai Police arrest gang over $15m counterfeit cash scam

The force set up a sting operation after being alerted by the intended victim of the fraud

Officers from the economic crimes unit arrested gang members and confiscated $15 million in counterfeit bills. Photo: Dubai Police

A gang of fraudsters were caught with $15 million in counterfeit bills after a sting operation by Dubai Police.

Members of the criminal enterprise, who were all from Africa, intended to use the fake currency to dupe an Arab resident in the emirate into handing over Dh1 million as part of a business scam.

They told the man they were the owners of a manufacturing company outside the Emirates and were willing to spend $15 million in a major project in return for the cash sum.

The would-be victim was suspicious of their motives and alerted police.

“He [the claimant] said they contacted him pretending to be outside the UAE and claimed they owned a business in glass manufacturing,” said Col Salah Bo Assiba, director of the department for economic crime at Dubai Police.

“They expressed interest in investing $15 million and offered to send the money through their business representatives in the country in return for receiving Dh1 million.”

A team of officers was responsible for investigating the incident and arresting the gang members.

With the agreement of police, the intended victim continued to communicate with the group, who first delivered $1.5m to him through a representative in the country.

The Dubai resident then arranged a meeting with the group at his office to complete the deal, which was monitored by officers from the economic crime unit.

Officers raided the office and arrested the suspects, seizing $15m in counterfeit cash.

Investigations revealed that the men had been involved in previous fraud incidents.

Police did not reveal when the incident occurred nor the number of people arrested.