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A Dubai court has jailed and expelled a woman who stole assets worth $1 million by swapping a cryptocurrency wallet.
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She replaced a hardware wallet of an investor during a meeting in Dubai.
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The civil courts ordered Dh4.3m in compensation, recognising that crypto is protected financial property under UAE laws.
A Dubai court sentenced a woman in jail and ordered her removal after finding her guilty for stealing cryptocurrency valued at about $1 million through secretly swapping hardware wallets during a business meet.
How the Crypto Wallet Exchange Happened
According to court records the fraud occurred during a meeting in Dubai arranged for verification. A man who claimed he ran an investment company expressed interest in funding a business project.
Before moving forward, he asked for “proof of financial ability” by asking the investor to show ownership of a large cryptocurrency holding. A meeting in Dubai was scheduled to verify this.
The man did not attend the meeting and sent his wife instead to represent him. Investigators found that the woman had replaced the genuine hardware wallet of the investor, which contained private access keys, during the meeting with a device identical to the one she had prepared beforehand.
The wallet swap enabled the cryptocurrency to be transferred without the investor’s immediate knowledge. The investor discovered later that his digital assets were transferred to other parties. The authorities launched a criminal probe and referred the case to the Dubai Misdemeanours & Infractions Court.
Criminal Conviction and Deportation Order
The court sentenced the woman to two months in jail and fined her the value of the stolen property at the time of her theft. The court also ordered her expulsion from the UAE. The Court of Appeal confirmed the criminal judgment and confirmed the convictions and penalties.
Civil Court awards Dh4.3 million in Compensation
After the criminal case was concluded, the investor filed civil suit to seek compensation for financial losses as well as lost profits. He argued that the value of the crypto stolen had increased after the theft.
The civil court ruled that the woman must pay Dh4.3m in compensation plus 5% legal interest per year until full payment. In its decision, it stated that digital currency is recognised as financial property under UAE law and is protected.
Documents in court identified the husband of the woman as a key player in the scheme. He is still at large, despite the authorities’ efforts to find him.
The case demonstrates the growing legal recognition of cryptocurrency in the UAE as well as the serious implications of fraud involving digital asset.
RelatedDubai Charities can now receive donations in crypto and virtual assets
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