Cybercriminals in the UAE face five years in prison and a fine of up to 1 AED million – Bits Media

The law will come into force in the UAE, according to which, for advertising fraudulent cryptocurrency schemes and unregistered ICOs, five years of imprisonment and a fine of up to 1 million dirhams.

As reported by the regional publication The National, early next year The United Arab Emirates government will take tough measures to improve online safety and protect the public from financial fraud as part of sweeping legal reforms, which President Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan previously spoke about.

The amendments will expand existing state laws, related to cybercrimes. So, persons, advertising fraudulent cryptocurrency schemes and projects, organizing ICOs without a license from the relevant authorities, faces five years in prison and/or a fine of 250 000 (about $68 000) to 1 million dirhams (about $272 250).

Lawyer Al Rowaad Advocates Hassan Elhais (Hassan Elhais) added, that placing misleading advertisements for cryptocurrency projects or distributing inaccurate information on the Internet about any investment product is subject to imprisonment and/or a fine of between 20 000 (about $5 445) to 500 000 dirhams (more $136 100).

The same punishment will apply to any members of the public, which promote cryptocurrency firms, illegally working in the country. Elhais explained, that UAE laws previously prohibited advertising of cryptocurrencies, but they did not stipulate penalties.

The updated legislation also imposes penalties of imprisonment or a fine of 50 000 (about $13 600) to 200 000 dirhams (about $54 450) for offenders, creating fake email accounts or websites on behalf of reputable companies.

The punishment increases to two years in prison, if a criminal uses fake accounts to discredit people, who he pretends to be. Using bots to spread false information can also result in up to two years in prison and a fine of 100 000 (about $27 220) to 1 million dirhams, Elhais said.

This spring, the Dubai administration reported the fraudulent cryptocurrency project “Dubai Coin”, which was allegedly launched as the "official digital currency of Dubai". Considering the growing number of cryptocurrency projects, aimed at deceiving users, in October, Dubai Police announced a partnership with BitOasis to train investors in identifying fraudulent schemes.