25 Dubai shops fined for illegal money transfer

Risingbd Desk: The Department of Economic Development (DED) in Dubai fined 25 shops in the emirate on a single day for engaging in unauthorised activities and illegal money transactions.

The shops were found to have enticed Bangladeshi expatriates with the offer of cheaper money transfers to their home country with the help of an app called 'Bkash'.

"DED acted on a tip-off and raided the shops and found out that none of them were licensed to provide money transfer services. All the shops advertised the illegal activity in the Bengali language to avoid suspicion," said Mohammed Ali Rashed Lootah, CEO of the Commercial Compliance and Consumer Protection sector in DED.

The transfer was done through SIM cards from Bangladesh installed in electronic devices and no invoices were issued to customers. The shopkeepers used to scribble down customer details and the amount to be transferred in paper slips and the transfer was done electronically.

"We have also confiscated the devices that were used to transfer money. None of the shops had money transfer as permitted activity in their licences and they didn't have the mandatory approvals from the UAE Central Bank," said Lootah.

Lootah urged consumers not to be tricked by such unscrupulous operators and alert the DED of any illegal business activity they come to notice. Consumers can contact DED on the Ahlan Dubai number 600 54 5555.

Source: Agencies

risingbd/DHAKA/Jan 22, 2017/Amirul