Men arrested for demanding protection money from investor, Dubai court told

The men, aged 52, 51, and 29, all from Kazakhstan, threatened their 40-year-old compatriot and demanded he pay them each month.

Powered by automated translation

DUBAI// Three men demanded protection money from an investor and threatened to kill him and his children if he did not pay, Dubai Criminal Court heard.

The men, aged 52, 51, and 29, all from Kazakhstan, threatened their 40-year-old compatriot and demanded he pay them each month.

The investor told prosecutors that in March this year the men came to his villa in Jumeirah when he was not at home.

“The maid called me and said men had come so I reported them to police for trespassing,” he said, adding that later one of them called him and asked to meet but he ignored his request.

“I was surprised to see them at my gym on March 29 this year. They demanded that I meet with their boss. I asked who they were and what they wanted and then I just went and met with their boss to see what they wanted,” said the victim.

He met the 51-year-old defendant later that day at a cafe in Mall of the Emirates but only after he spoke to police.

“I was escorted by CID who stood far away and watched as the three men arrived,” said the victim, adding that one of them told him he must pay them in return for protection.

The court was told that the men claimed to know where he lived in Dubai and in Kazakhstan and threatened to kidnap his children.

“When he met with them, the boss told him that they also knew where his mother lived and blamed him for living a lavish life here while they live poor back home and demanded that he pays them monthly amounts,” said the victim’s friend, a 41-year-old from Georgia.

A 53-year-old policeman said the three men were arrested after CID officers positioned nearby saw the victim looking afraid as they spoke to him loudly.

The men were not present in court to enter a plea against a charge of issuing threats.

The next hearing will be on October 13.

salamir@thenational.ae