Q: Hello Sir, Subj: First Islamic CryptoCurrency (FICS) An investment company called [------] based in RAK started receiving investments in FICS in the year 2019. In March 2019 I had invested AED 50,000 (the value of one Crypto token is USD 0.10) and they offered an initial bonus of 30% for the total investments as well. After one year of the investment, they informed me that all my total investment is shifted to [S] account. After some time, they informed me that [S] has tied up with the [----] platform and we can start very soon the trading. Unfortunately, no trading has been started yet, also I am unable to contact anyone in this company [A] or [S]. Kindly advise how can I get my money back, should I file a criminal case against it? Do you think this is a fraud? Looking forward to your kind reply. K. M.

Q: I had recently befriended on social media a person from Hong Kong who told me is on a visit to Dubai to help her uncle who is a veteran in crypto & crypto futures trading! During our communication, she told me her uncle & his friends have developed a strategy where they can predict the movement of prices at certain times which she regularly used to show her profits made! She encouraged me to open a Binance Ac & a Trading Ac in https://www.metatraders6.site/wap/#/ (This site had an HTTPS & secure site certified by Cloudflare Inc) thus started trading 1st with smaller & then larger amounts! I recently got doubt & tried to withdraw $3K money USDT (I have $ 15K USDT & visible in site) BUT couldn't. Now they are asking to deposit AED 23K for opening membership! I'm now sure it's fraud BUT don't know how to withdraw. I also don't know where the website is located (CloudFlare can give the details as it's a secure site BUT need to approach legally). Any help?

Q: Dear sir/madam, It is related to cryptocurrency. On 26th Jan 2022, I made a deal on Binance exchange for selling crypto tokens worth AED 100.000 to a person (buyer). Accordingly, I received the money and the crypto tokens were released. But the money I received was from her sister's account as the buyer told me. I asked for the Emirates ID of both persons and released the cryptocurrency to the buyer in a good faith. On 31st Jan 2022, I came to know that the party (her sister) who had transferred money to my bank had become a victim of e-commerce fraud, and her account was hacked by a Binance buyer who has transferred money to me on the pretext of other bank account holder. My bank account has been frozen upon complaint from the other party whose bank details were compromised and I am having a travel ban currently. I also registered an e-crime complaint on 1st Feb 2022. Please get in touch if you can assist in removing the travel ban.

Q: Good day, We are a group of people and residents of the UAE who invested in an international company that called themselves an investing company and promised their investors a big return. In the end, we realized that the company was a scheme/pyramid, but unfortunately, it was late as we faced a company scam. And we lost a lot of money. Cases were opened all over the world against them. The leaders of the company who called them "10* stars" were residents of the UAE; some of them still live here and they introduced us to Finiko schemes. We need advice on where to start the case in the UAE and what is the right department to go to as the partners who were the main people of the company are hiding in the UAE with all the money? Kindly note that all investments were done by crypto in bitcoin currency. All victims have the evidence. We have sent complaints to e-crime, but the applications of all the victims got rejected and we cannot understand why. Thanks in advance!

Q: I believe that I am a victim of a crypto scam. I met a girl on a dating app in December and she onboarded me to a crypto platform helping me invest using step-by-step screenshots. I was consistently asked to deposit USD 20k money, however, raised USD 5k and she deposited USD 15k in my crypto account. My withdrawal was declined and customer services asked me to pay 12k USD in tax on profit made in order to access these funds. I arranged 9k and the lady paid 3k for me. Since 3k was not from my account, customer service asked me to pay it from my account which I duly did. Then I was asked to deposit USD 15k as security since the initial funds were from someone else. I did that and my withdrawal got approved but I was informed that the fund release is stuck as I need to pay USD 8.3k as a large channel fee and I would be upgraded to a premium client. Post this payment, now I am being asked for USD 6.3k as a miner's fee on my whole account balance to get my withdrawal

Q: I give an investment to a Pakistani individual for trading opportunities in cryptocurrency. He gave me three cheques as security against my investment. He used to give me profits every month. After 4 months, he failed to give me a profit by saying all investments were liquidated and lost. I opened a cheque execution case against him and all three cheques (100k + 12k + 29K AED) got bounced due to insufficient funds. During this stage, the person managed to leave UAE and flee to his home country ( Pakistan). It is more than 4 months after my execution case yet I didn't receive any money from the court. How can I recover my money? I need a detailed answer. Thanks.

Q: Dear Sir/Madam, I made a mistake and paid someone in Binance to trade crypto for me and give me daily profits, but It turned out to be a scam. He was asking me to pay more to get the profits, but I stopped and I asked him to return my money, but no positive answer. Is there any chance I can get my money back through Binance or the bank? All our communication was through Telegram.

Q: Hi, I've been offered a Chief Technology Officer (CTO) position at a new cryptocurrency and blockchain company. However, I'm a bit suspicious. What are the legal risks for me in a Dubai court if this company isn't honest? My role will only involve the technical aspect. Thank you in advance for your answer!

Q: DeFi was going to be the future of finance, open, trustless, unstoppable. I was completely on board, planting yields like some kind of digital Johnny Appleseed. My collateral secured with Bitcoin was humming along on my favorite lending platform, earning me passive income while I slept. In came the flash loan attack. One moment, I had six figures securely staked; the next, my positions were liquidated at the speed of regret. My loans, my collateral, my well-thought-out portfolio, poof. Panic came faster than an Ethereum gas spike. I scanned Twitter, hoping it was FUD. Not a chance. Smart contract compromised. Funds stolen. The protocol team acted swiftly to do something, but damage was already done.

مع صدور قرار مجلس الوزراء رقم (58) لسنة (2020) في شان تنظيم إجراءات المستفيد الحقيقي، ومدى مساهمته في الحد من جريمة غسيل الأموال و تمويل الإرهاب، لا بد بدايةً من معرفة مفهوم غسيل الأموال و تمويل الإرهاب. تُعرَّف عملية غسل الأموال بأنها كل معاملة مالية أو مصرفية تهدف إلى إخفاء أو تغيير هوية الأموال المتحصلة بطرق غير قانونية، وذلك بتمريرها عبر النظام المالي والمصرفي لكي تظهر على أنها نابعة من مصادر شرعية، و من ثَمَّ إعادة ضخها واستثمارها بشكل قانوني مغاير لحقيقتها.

The new law is applicable to all entities dealing with virtual assets that are set up on the mainland as well as free zones, including special development zones. However, it does not apply to the Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC), which will have its own set of rules and regulations governing all virtual assets entities registered with the DIFC.

The UAE Penal Code, like all other laws, addresses the crime of fraud in Article 399 of the UAE Federal Penal Code, which stipulates that whoever seizes, for himself or another, a movable property, or obtains a document or signature thereon, cancellation or destruction thereof or amendment thereto by fraudulent means, or by assuming a false name or capacity, where such an act leads to deception of a victim and leads him to surrender shall be punished by imprisonment or fine.

Blackwater International, a leading private security and investigative company, has established a reputation for handling complex and high-stakes operations. One of the most challenging areas the company has ventured into is cryptocurrency asset recovery. This case study explores a recent successful recovery operation conducted by Blackwater International, highlighting their methodology, challenges faced, and the impact of their efforts.

تعتبر الجرائم الإلكترونية من أبرز التحديات القانونية في العصر الحديث، حيث تزايدت الأنشطة الإجرامية التي يتم ارتكابها عبر الإنترنت، ما يجعلها تشكل تهديدًا للأفراد والمجتمعات والدول. ومع تزايد الاعتماد على التكنولوجيا في مختلف المجالات في دولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة، أصبحت مكافحة الجرائم الإلكترونية واحدة من الأولويات التشريعية في الدولة. سنعرض في هذا المقال تحليلًا قانونيًا معمقًا للجرائم الإلكترونية في الإمارات، بدءًا من التعريف وصولًا إلى التشريعات الخاصة بمكافحتها.

This Law promulgates the Federal Penal Code (Criminal Law) of the United Arab Emirates. Crimes and chastisement punishments shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of this Law and other penal codes.

The law defines the crimes related to money laundering, commitments and the jurisdictions of the governmental authorities, and the sanctions against perpetrators of money laundering.

The provisions of this Federal Decree-Law No. (31) of 2021 Promulgating the Crimes and Penalties Law, known as the "New UAE Penal Code", governs criminal actions in the United Arab Emirates. The New Penal Code repeals the previous UAE Penal Code (Federal Law No. (3) of 1987 Promulgating the Penal Code).