Criminal Court jails two men for scamming victim through Viber dollar channel

The Criminal Court has sentenced two men to over a year in prison and ordered them to pay damages after they scammed a victim by pretending to sell dollars through a Viber channel.

The prosecution charged Abdulla Haisham, 28, of Miskithumagu, Fuvahmulah City, and Ahmed Zaneef, 28, of Sevena, S. Hulhudhoo, with unauthorized possession of another person’s property. The case stemmed from an incident on October 7, 2022, involving an advertisement posted on a Viber channel named Dollar Exchange.

A total of MVR 111,475 was deposited into a woman’s account at the rate of MVR 17.15 to purchase USD 6,500. According to the judgment, MVR 50,000 of the funds was transferred to Haisham’s account, of which MVR 25,000 was withdrawn and MVR 25,000 transferred elsewhere. CCTV analysis confirmed that Zaneef withdrew MVR 25,000 from the victim’s account via the Hulhumeedhoo ATM.

Although both men denied the charges, the court ruled that police investigation reports, bank statements and witness testimony proved the case beyond reasonable doubt.