Eight people have been found guilty of money laundering and fraud by the Abu Dhabi Criminal Court, fined Dh10 million each and sentenced to prison.
Their sentences range from seven to 10 years.
Four Emirati men, three Syrian men and an Ethiopian woman were convicted.
The court heard how they fraudulently acquired cars and laundered money by transferring ownership to themselves and selling the cars.
The scheme involve buying the vehicles using cheques linked to empty bank accounts.
The four non-UAE citizens will also face deportation.
Two other defendants in the case were found not guilty.
All money and assets belonging to the criminals were confiscated.
The Public Prosecution, along with the Financial Intelligence Unit of the UAE Central Bank told the court they had discovered irregularities with the bank accounts, such as deposits not matching declared salaries and cheques issued for money not available in the account.
The criminals involved repeatedly transferred ownership of cars between themselves to disguise the original source of the money.
11 cabbie-recommended restaurants and dishes to try in Abu Dhabi
Iqbal Restaurant behind Wendy’s on Hamdan Street for the chicken karahi (Dh14)
Pathemari in Navy Gate for prawn biryani (from Dh12 to Dh35)
Abu Al Nasar near Abu Dhabi Mall, for biryani (from Dh12 to Dh20)
Bonna Annee at Navy Gate for Ethiopian food (the Bonna Annee special costs Dh42 and comes with a mix of six house stews – key wet, minchet abesh, kekel, meser be sega, tibs fir fir and shiro).
Al Habasha in Tanker Mai for Ethiopian food (tibs, a hearty stew with meat, is a popular dish; here it costs Dh36.75 for lamb and beef versions)
Himalayan Restaurant in Mussaffa for Nepalese (the momos and chowmein noodles are best-selling items, and go for between Dh14 and Dh20)
Makalu in Mussaffa for Nepalese (get the chicken curry or chicken fry for Dh11)
Al Shaheen Cafeteria near Guardian Towers for a quick morning bite, especially the egg sandwich in paratha (Dh3.50)
Pinky Food Restaurant in Tanker Mai for tilapia
Tasty Zone for Nepalese-style noodles (Dh15)
Ibrahimi for Pakistani food (a quarter chicken tikka with roti costs Dh16)
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
