The Abu Dhabi Family, Civil and Administrative Court has ruled that a woman must repay AED 7,000 to a man after fraudulently obtaining the amount through an advertisement posted on Instagram in which she claimed to provide domestic worker recruitment services. The court also ordered her to pay an additional AED 7,000 in compensation for material and moral damages, along with legal fees and court expenses.

According to court records, the claimant filed a lawsuit stating that the defendant had misled him through a social media advertisement, asserting that she worked in recruiting domestic workers. After contacting her to obtain the service, he transferred AED 7,000 as an advance payment for hiring a housemaid. However, she failed to fulfill the agreement and unlawfully retained the amount.

The claimant requested repayment of the AED 7,000, plus legal interest at 9% from the date of filing the lawsuit until full settlement, as well as AED 7,000 in compensation for financial and emotional harm suffered as a result of the fraud. To support his case, he submitted a copy of the criminal judgment convicting the defendant and fining her AED 20,000, in addition to chat records exchanged via WhatsApp.

In its reasoning, the court cited provisions of the Civil Transactions Law, which state that no person may unlawfully take another’s property without legal justification, and that any such amount must be returned. The criminal conviction confirmed that the defendant had committed fraud, thereby establishing her obligation to repay the misappropriated funds.

Regarding compensation, the court held that the defendant’s fault was conclusively proven by the criminal judgment and that her actions caused both financial loss—represented by the seized amount and the loss of its use—and moral harm resulting from the fraudulent conduct. Consequently, the court ordered her to repay AED 7,000 and to pay an additional AED 7,000 as compensation, along with all court fees and expenses.

The ruling reinforces Abu Dhabi’s firm stance against online fraud and underscores the judiciary’s commitment to protecting individuals from deceptive practices, ensuring restitution of unlawfully obtained funds and fair compensation for proven damages.