An online scam targeting individuals and businesses led to the conviction of a 30-member gang and seven companies for laundering money and embezzling Dh32 million.

96 years of imprisonment were handed out to the 30 members of the gang by Dubai's Money Laundering Court. They will be deported after serving their sentence. The court ordered the defendants to jointly pay a fine of over Dh32 million.

Additionally, the court ordered the confiscation of computers and phones used in the crime. A total fine of Dh700,000 was also imposed on the seven companies involved in the case. The court may confiscate funds or assets belonging to the defendants to cover the fine.

In an earlier case, the Public Prosecution referred 30 individuals and seven companies to the Dubai Courts on charges of money laundering and running an online scam worth Dh32 million.

Senior advocate-general and head of Public Funds Prosecution, Ismail Madani, said the gang sent 118,000 phishing emails to victims. The criminals impersonated banks and financial institutions with whom the victims had business relationships.

The phishing emails asked victims to transfer money to the defendants' accounts. Some of the defendants cashed out the funds or transferred them to other accounts, while others purchased used cars to conceal the source of the funds," the official said.

According to Ismail Madani, the UAE authorities are committed to combating money laundering, online crimes, and scams that can negatively affect the economy.

A robust system has been established in the UAE to investigate money laundering offenses. During November 2022 to February 2023, law enforcement agencies opened 122 new cases, and public prosecutors investigated 109. During this period, the UAE maintained a 94 per cent conviction rate in money laundering cases.

With sophisticated investigation methods and techniques, the UAE has been able to effectively deal with highly complex typologies. Therefore, all investigations require the officer to formulate a strategy and analyze the possible outcomes, threats, and vulnerabilities.