According to a report, fraudsters who promote online crypto scams in the UAE will now face a possible fine of up to $272,000, along with a jail sentence of five years. These new measures will be implemented from January 2nd next year and are part of the efforts of the government to protect the public from online scams. The new online security laws in the United Arab Emirates will go into effect in the beginning of 2022. The National News reported that the new measures have been introduced as part of sweeping legal reforms that were introduced in November by Sheikh Khalifa, the president of the country.
The UAE said that the purpose of the laws is to protect online users from electronic fraud and also preserve personal rights and privacy. Even though there were already laws in place in the UAE that banned the promotion of cryptocurrencies, the problem is that these laws lack the provisions that could enable the authorities to penalize the offenders involved. Al Rowaad Advocates Hassan Elhais said that these measures were not the same as those introduced in the previous laws. He said that article 48 dictates that posting inaccurate data or misleading ads online about a particular product would be punishable with a fine between $5,445 (Dh 20,000) and $136,100 (Dh 500,000) or jail time.
The same penalty is applicable to all members of the public who are promoting cryptocurrencies that are unrecognized by the country’s authorities. As far as the laws of the UAE that aim to protect the people from financial crimes and enhance online safety, Elhais stated that the previous article is supplemented with article 41, as they have similar objectives. He said that along with a five-year jail time, there is also a fine imposed between $68,000 and $272,000 on all those people who promote fake companies and electronic currencies for raising money from the public without seeking a license from competent authorities.
Meanwhile, it was indicated via a report that the increased focus from the UAE authorities in protecting the people from online scams is because of an increase in the number of fraudulent crypto schemes. For instance, the UAE government had had to release a statement back in late May this year for disassociating themselves from the ‘Dubai Coin’. The statement had claimed at the time that the website that had been promoting the Dubai Coin was actually an elaborate phishing scam that had been aimed at stealing personal information from the visitors.
Likewise, warnings had also been issued to the residents by the law enforcement authorities in the country about being wary of any fake crypto schemes that are promising them instant wealth. These scams are a common occurrence in the crypto space and have become rampant of late, especially due to the popularity of cryptocurrencies. As many people are clamoring to jump onto the crypto bandwagon, these schemes are aimed at taking advantage of these people and to steal their money as well as their personal information.