NRIs dupe UAE residents of $100,000

Complaints have been submitted at the Indian embassy against Keralites Manaf and Khalid for the 'chit funds fraud'.

Hundreds of UAE residents have been taken for a ride by two Indian expatriates who allegedly duped them out of over $100,000 after convincing them to deposit money into two chit funds they were running.

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Complaints have been submitted at the Indian Embassy and the Non-Resident Keralite Affairs Department (NORKA) against Keralites Manaf and Khalid working for the UAE government, who reportedly collected various amounts from hundreds of residents of Abu Dhabi for two separate chit funds.

According to irate colleagues and friends of the duo, after having collected over $100,000, Manaf and Khalid allegedly ran away to their native town in Kerala from where they disappeared without a trace along with their families.

"I entrusted the money to them because I have known these people for many years. They also gave me a signed receipt as proof," UAE national Usman Sidique K, who lost over $27,000 to the Indian duo, said.

According to Usman it was only when Khalid and Manaf did not come back after they went for a short "holiday" in January to Kerala's Malappuram, that his suspicions were aroused.

Other aggrieved parties, Sajid and Khaled VT said hundreds of their friends and colleages deposited anything between $27 to $272 to the chit funds.

A source at the Indian embassy said that all complaints regarding the Indian expatriates were being forwarded to the NORKA.

A locked house greeted some of the relatives of the victims when they checked at the duo's residences in Malappuram, Usman said.