Scam victims seek Indian Consulate’s help to nab conman

Our Correspondent

DUBAI 

Consul General of India in Dubai Vipul has assured victims of a Dh 6 million scam that he will do all that is possible to get them justice after a conman escaped to Hyderabad last month on a repatriation flight to India under the Vande Bharat Mission.

Nearly 50 business owners in the UAE were swindled by Yogesh Ashok Yariaya, owner of the Dubai-based Royal Luck Food Trading and prime suspect in the scam. The fraudulent company shut its Business Bay office overnight after procuring millions of dirhams worth of goods against post-dated cheques which later bounced. By the time victims realised that they were cheated, Yogesh had left the country and his entire staff had disappeared.

On June 6, a four-member delegation of the victims met Consul General Vipul at his office and gave a memorandum seeking the arrest of Yogesh. The official assured them he will do whatever possible, including taking up the issue with UAE and Indian authorities.

Chandrashkher Ganesha, who was part of the delegation, was one such victim. His company Skydent Medical Equipment had supplied surgical face masks worth Dh.175,000 to Royal Luck.

The other companies defrauded include Saad Abdul Wahab, dealers of dates and vegetable oil (Dh683,800); Al Baraka Foods dealing in rice and nuts (Dh393,000); Al Ahbab General Trading (frozen beef: Dh207,000); Yes Buy General Trading (tuna, pistachios and saffron: Dh300,725); and Crystal Foodstuff Trading (fresh fruits: Dh311,000).

Vipul said traders should check the credibility of the company and also its proprietors before signing a deal. He pointed out that the audit reports of Royal Luck proved that the person had started the company only a few months back.

Curiously, Royal Luck’s audit report was issued by the auditors of Harbin Middle East Marine Services, which had been involved in a similar scam in 2017.