Central bank warns against gold bullion

The UAE Central Bank has warned public against fictitious or fraudulent documents which some individuals present as power of attorney to a third party to claim the so-called assets kepy with the apex bank. The bank warned that this fraud is targeted at reputable financial institutions showing financial assets or gold bullion under the safekeeping on behalf of certain individual(s) domiciled in other jurisdictions. The Central Bank warned that it does not maintain deposits or any other type of assets on behalf of any person. “Therefore, any such documents, either safekeeping receipts or warehouse receipts indicating claims by natural person on the Central Bank of the UAE are totally fictitious and fraudulent and have no foundation. Furthermore, the public is cautioned not to be enticed by such documents as this may subject all concerned to legal proceedings,” the Bank in an advertisement in local media. Central Bank’s anti-money laundering unit has referred several such cases to the law enforcement authorities in the UAE to take necessary legal actions against different nationalities that presented documents purportedly issued by the Central Bank of the UAE or any other reputed financial institutions. It also said that some convictions have already taken place in this regard through judgments passed by competent courts. The Bank urged the public to report any such cases involving documents to claim assets from the Central Bank of the UAE on their behalf.