SHARJAH // Police yesterday arrested five men suspected of running a bogus investment company from an apartment they had converted into an office.
"They equipped the house with meeting rooms, office desks, computer monitors and a wide-screen television so that people would think it was a legitimate company," said a spokesman for Sharjah CID. "But they did not have a trade licence."
He said the bogus company was open for business from midday until 7pm every day.
Police were notified by a customer who said he invested Dh1,500 after being promised a monthly return of US$400 (Dh1,400). He complained that after he made the deposit, the bogus company's representatives refused to answer his calls.
"We then received more complaints from victims who were also duped," the police spokesman said. "All the victims claimed that upon asking for receipts, the suspects refused to hand out any paper trail and promised that they could track their investment online."
When police raided the apartment, they seized a large quantity of electronic equipment and arrested five Indian men.
The apartment was registered in the name of a man who is in India, officers said.
