Promised to marry despite already having a wife: in the UAE, a woman won nearly 1 million dirhams from a fraudster

In the United Arab Emirates, a court considered a fraud case in which a young woman was the victim. A man convinced her to invest large sums of money in allegedly joint business projects and a future married life. As a result, the woman lost nearly 1 million dirhams (approximately 272 thousand dollars), but was able to achieve justice in court.

The decisive evidence was bank transfers and WhatsApp correspondence, which confirmed the receipt of funds and the promise to return them.

How the man convinced the woman to give nearly 1 million dirhams

According to the case materials, it all started with trust between the parties. The man proposed to the woman to jointly implement several business projects and repeatedly assured her that he intended to marry her and build a future together.

He claimed that funding was necessary to launch the business and also informed her that his mother knew about his intention to propose to the woman. Believing these words, the victim took out bank loans and financing in her name, then handed over significant sums of money to the man.

The woman was convinced that these funds would help him improve his financial situation so that he could officially ask for her hand, and later the money would be returned to both of them according to their agreements.

Later, she found out that many of the man's claims were not true. Moreover, she learned that he was already married and, according to her, used a similar scheme to deceive other women. In the end, the victim was left alone with credit obligations, while the man used the received funds.

Why WhatsApp correspondence became the main evidence in court

Since the parties did not conclude written loan agreements, the woman turned to the court in Dubai.

Lawyers point out that the biggest challenge was to combine separate facts, messages, and bank transfers into a coherent body of evidence. To do this, lawyers matched correspondence, documents, and financial transactions by dates and amounts to reconstruct the full picture of events.

The court concluded that a special financial and accounting examination was necessary for the case and instructed an expert to check all banking operations.

The examination confirmed that the man received significant sums from the woman without legal grounds. This was established through analysis of bank transfers, WhatsApp correspondence, and a message in which the man apologized for what happened. The total amount of money he was supposed to return was nearly 1 million dirhams.

The court ordered the return of money and payment of compensation

As a result of the hearing, the court sided with the plaintiff.

The man was ordered to return nearly 1 million dirhams to her, as well as pay compensation for damages, lawful interest, cover court costs, and legal fees.

According to lawyers, the most important evidence was not the bank documents, but the WhatsApp messages in which the man directly admitted receiving the funds and confirmed his intention to return them.

The publication Khaleej Times adds: in similar cases, even indirect acknowledgment of debt contained in the other party's own words can serve as evidence.

What legal force WhatsApp messages have in the UAE

Many people in the UAE mistakenly believe that if there is no written contract, it is impossible to prove their right to get money back. However, this case disproved that notion.

According to UAE Decree-Law No. 35 of 2022 "On Evidence in Civil and Commercial Transactions," electronic correspondence, including WhatsApp messages, has the same evidentiary value as written documents if their authenticity can be confirmed.

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