Dr. Hamad Saif Al Shamsi, the UAE Attorney-General, has ordered 15 individuals from various Arab nationalities to be referred to the criminal court. This group includes those currently in custody and others who remain fugitives with active arrest warrants.
In addition, 12 companies are being charged with crimes such as forgery, money laundering, and tax evasion.
The Federal Prosecution for Tax Evasion Crimes, supervised directly by the Attorney-General, uncovered that the accused individuals formed a criminal gang to carry out fraud. They falsified official documents, including those from the Ministry of Economy, chambers of commerce, customs authorities, and other agencies.
These forged documents allowed the gang to unlawfully claim value-added tax (VAT) refunds on fake transactions. They falsely declared purchasing and exporting goods, paid VAT on these purchases, and created companies to support their fraudulent scheme.
The defendants also misappropriated VAT amounts from imports that should have been remitted to the Federal Tax Authority.
The total amount embezzled by this group exceeded AED 107 million. The investigations also revealed that the defendants laundered money to conceal the origin of these illicit funds.
