Sharjah rental fraud: Indian expat acquitted after wrongful arrest at Dubai Airport
A wrongfully imprisoned Indian expat in Dubai, facing deportation over a rental fraud scheme orchestrated by a rogue real estate agency using his villa documents, has been fully acquitted by a Sharjah court.
A wrongfully imprisoned Indian expat in Dubai, facing deportation over a rental fraud scheme orchestrated by a rogue real estate agency using his villa documents, has been fully acquitted by a Sharjah court.
A wrongfully imprisoned Indian expat in Dubai, facing deportation over a rental fraud scheme orchestrated by a rogue real estate agency using his villa documents, has been fully acquitted by a Sharjah court.
An Indian expatriate from Ernakulam, Kerala, who was wrongfully arrested at Dubai Airport and faced a one-year prison sentence alongside deportation, has been acquitted by the Sharjah court in a high-profile rental fraud case.
The victim, an executive at a reputed firm in Dubai, jointly owns a villa in Sharjah with his father. Seeking prospective tenants, the family handed over a copy of the villa's ownership documents to a local real estate brokerage solely for advertising purposes. Crucially, no authorisation was granted to the agency to execute tenancy contracts or collect rent payments on their behalf.
Elaborate scam unravelled
Exploiting the documents, the real estate firm targeted a woman looking to rent the villa and instructed her to transfer an annual rent of AED 104,000 directly into their company account. To convince the tenant, the scammers sent forged confirmation messages from a fake email address closely mimicking the owner's genuine email ID.
When the tenant failed to receive access to the villa after 10 days, she lodged a formal complaint with the police. A legal case was subsequently registered against three individuals, including the property owner.
Arrested at the airport
Because the fraudsters had submitted false contact details on the case file, the villa owner remained entirely unaware of police summons, prosecution proceedings, and the eventual court judgment handed down in absentia. He only discovered the legal action when immigration authorities detained him at Dubai Airport as he was preparing to board a flight to India.
Sentenced in absentia to a year in prison followed by deportation, the shocked expat was taken into custody. His father immediately sought legal intervention from Senior Legal Consultant Adv Shamsuddeen Karunagappally of Ayesha Al Dhaheri Advocates & Legal Consultants.
Justice served
After securing temporary bail, the defense team appealed the verdict and argued before the court that owning a property and sharing title deeds for promotional purposes do not constitute proof of involvement in fraud.
Accepting the argument that there was zero evidence tying the owner to the financial transaction or deception, the Sharjah court overturned the conviction and granted a complete acquittal.
Disclaimer: The image used alongside this report is sourced from X/DXB to provide visual clarity and context, and does not belong to Malayala Manorama.