A UAE-based broking firm abruptly vanished, defrauding investors of millions of dirhams. Gulf First Commercial Brokers had two offices at Dubai’s Business Bay’s Capital Golden Tower until last month. According to The Khaleej Times, the company employed roughly 40 people who made cold calls to advertise forex offerings.
Both offices are now deserted. Phone cords are severed, the floors are covered in dust, and investment funds totalling millions of dirhams have disappeared without a trace.
A police complaint was filed.
Both Gulf First and Sigma-One have been the subject of a police complaint. According to their investigations, Sigma-One Capital does not have license from the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) or the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) to operate.
The business claimed to have a Bur Dubai office in Musalla Tower and a registration in St. Lucia, Caribbean, however there isn’t one. Actually, there are no records of the business ever operating there, according to the investigation.
Known Playbook
The scheme is similar to previous fraud cases in the United Arab Emirates, where residents lost millions of dollars to fraudulent websites such as EVM Prime and DuttFx. All of these scams had as a common element the promise of “secure trading environments” that was made during cold calls.
After taking out loans or maxing up credit cards, victims would learn that the companies’ Dubai offices were fictitious.