Three men have gone on trial for forging the UAE rulers’ signatures to con a woman out of thousands of dollars.
Dubai Court of First Instance heard how the trio convinced a woman that the UAE wanted to invest in a petroleum field in Ghana.
Official records state that a 54-year-old American engineer who works in an oil field in Ghana, received a call from a man asking to set up a meeting in Dubai claiming that the UAE was seeking to invest $80 million in an oil field.
“I got a call asking me to make an investment study into the project, I did it and send it by email. After a week I got a call claiming that the UAE rulers wanted to invest with me and was asked to come to the UAE,” the American victim said in official records.
When she arrived in the UAE, the first defendant welcomed her and took her to an office on Sheikh Zayed Road where they met the other two defendants who told her that UAE was ready to invest $80 million in the oil field in Ghana.
She said: “They showed me a contract with the signatures of the UAE rulers and I signed it.”
They asked her for $2.4 million as guarantee to secure the deal and she handed over $575,000. When there was no progress with the project the woman reported the trio to Dubai Police.
Police arrested the three defendants - two Nigerians and one Jordanian - who were still in the country.
The defendants pleaded not guilty to forgery and theft and the case has been adjourned.
