UAE imprisons company boss for defrauding 296 Emiratis in Nafis scheme

The un-named company boss took advantage of the Nafis programme to claim money.

The Nafis programme, was launched by the Emirati Talent Competitiveness Council (ETCC), as part of “Projects of the 50”, aimed at boosting Emiratisation in the UAE private sector. The programme was also launched with the goal of filling 75,000 private sector jobs over the next five years.

UAE boss jailed

Following an investigation the suspect was said to have registered with the Nafis platform to undertake training of 296 UAE nationals in e-commerce and commercial litigation.

The accused then fraudulently requested that the 296 trainees deposit money in the company bank account.

It was claimed that the money would be donated to charitable causes.

However, the company owner is alleged to have told trainees they would not pass training evaluation if the money was not deposited.

UAE Public Prosecution said that the company had only two employees and ordered the imprisonment of the company owner.

The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE) has previously warned companies against misleading advertisements, which do not represent available and real job opportunities or advertise unskilled job or include the government subsidy benefits and incentives related to Emiratis in the private sector in advertisements.

Under the the Ministerial Resolution No. 663 of 2022 regarding compliance with Emiratisation regulations in the private sector, companies must also not refer to the government’s Emiratisation policies or benefits, when advertising for Emiratisation jobs.