Hyderabad: At least 10 people from Telangana have fallen victim to financial fraud in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the last few months. They are either languishing in jails in Abu Dhabi, Dubai or other emirates, or have gone missing.These people are said to have been cheated through various means, including taking credit cards or loans in their names, or sub-leasing properties rented in their names and defaulting on payments. While some have managed to return to India before a travel ban was imposed on them, many others remain stuck in the UAE and cannot return until they repay the amounts owed.“My husband is uneducated. He is innocent. He called me a few months ago saying he wants to come back as he is hardly able to save about ₹10,000 per month. I have pledged whatever little gold I have and sent him about ₹45,000. But he did not come back and is now in jail,” said Rajitha, whose husband Thirupathi is a victim of financial fraud.She said her husband went to Dubai about a year ago after facing heavy losses in agriculture. “He bought a tractor for ₹7 lakh but had to sell it for ₹3 lakh after facing losses. I don’t even exactly know why he is in jail. All I understood is that he was cheated there,” she said, adding that she is working as a house help for survival.While Rajitha at least knows that her husband is in jail, a few families, like that of Alleswarapu Ramesh, don’t even know where he is.“Three months ago, my father called and said he was coming back to India. He told us that he was asked to go to the Sharjah police station and sign before heading to the airport. Since then, he has been missing,” said Ashritha, Ramesh’s daughter.Ashritha said some people had taken cards in her father’s name and used the money. “That’s when he sought help from the embassy and got the required documents, including his passport, to come back to India. But now no one has any information about him. Our relatives living there are also trying to find his whereabouts, but we have received no information yet,” she added.Officials from Pravasi Prajavani said they noticed similarities in three petitions — Ramesh, Tirupati and another victim — as all three had worked for the same company.“If one petition comes to Prajavani, the victims will be at least 1,000, as what we receive is just the tip of the iceberg. In three cases, all of them were working for the same company. These financial frauds are also on the rise lately, as we must have received at least 10 such petitions this year,” said Mandha Bheem Reddy, vice-chairman, NRI Advisory Committee of the Telangana govt.He said that in many cases, those working in the UAE are lured with offers to pay them some amount for using their documents to get loans or enter into rental agreements.“We can’t say all of them are innocent. Some come back before the person who took the loan in their name defaults, while others are stuck as a travel ban has already been imposed,” he added.
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