User:Rinat Shakenov/sandbox
Aziz Com Mirza | |
|---|---|
| Born | Montreal, Canadian |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Years active | 2018–present |
| Known for | Convicted white collar criminal of a Ponzi scheme, investment fraud |
Aziz Com Mirza is a Canadian convicted white collar criminal based in Dubai.[1] Mirza is better known for defrauding hundreds investors worldwide through a string of dodgy investment schemes.[2][3] In 2019, he was arrested in Dubai by Bur Dubai Police and in 2020, he was sentenced to jail by Dubai Criminal Court for fraud.[4]
Career
[edit]In 2019, he came in the limelight when Gulf News reported, Mirza was arrested and sentenced to jail for committed frauds in Dubai.[4] He was a self-proclaimed serial entrepreneur mentor, influencer and philanthropist.[5] He was a Burj Khalifa resident, had several supercars.[6] He appeared in several public gatherings organised by the Muslim Enterpreneur Network (MEN), where he promoted his dodgy investment schemes.
Scams and dodgy schemes
[edit]In 2018, he appeared in a public event, where he introduced a crypto fraud scheme called Habibi Coin[7][8] at a Leverage Programme (LP) event held in London.[9] According to Gulf News, on his public events he claimed that "since launching his first business at age seven with a lemonade stand, he has done business in eight countries. He also, claimed to run multiple companies in technology, real estate, automotive, luxury rental, crypto currency, investment and media industries".[4]
In 2017, he launched an online content website business called Leverage Programme (LP), each investors were charged a minimum of £5,000 (Dh24,000).[10] The Leverage Programme (LP) was ran by the Muslim Entrepreneur network (MEN). It was reported that, Com Mirza collaborated with other fraudsters including Rafaqat "Rocky" Mirza, Ashfaq Siddique, Arif Mirza, Haroon Qureshi to commit these frauds.[11] Among them, Rafaqat "Rocky" Mirza and Arif Mirza are his brothers. One of the collaborator Ashfaq Siddique a former Metropolitan Police detective and Al Madina Mosque Barking secretary, who promoted the dodgy investment schemes of Leverage Programme (LP) and Muslim Entrepreneur network (MEN).[12] Also, he let them use the Al Madina Mosque Barking as its office address for several months.[13]
According to Barking & Dagenham Post, the Leverage Programme (LP) was the brainchild of Rafaqat "Rocky" Mirza, who partnered with the Muslim Entrepreneur network (MEN) founders Haroon Qureshi and Harun Rashid to conduct these dodgy investment schemes.[11] During 2017-2018, £1.7m of Leverage members' funds were funnelled to Arif Mirza's Dubai-based businesses illegally. They also falsified information to raise funds for the Muslim Entrepreneur network (MEN) investors for an app called Empty Trip, which was lunched by Rafaqat Rocky Mirza, Aziz Com Mirza and Arif Mirza.[14]
Arrest and sentencing
[edit]On October 2019, a UAE resident filed a complaint to Bur Dubai Police, who reportedly lost $150,000 in a dodgy schemes ran by Aziz Com Mirza. Later, Mirza was taken into custody. In 2020, he was found guilty by Dubai Criminal Court and was sentenced to jail for fraud for six months and fined $140,000.[15][16][17]
References
[edit]- ^ Perez, Yessi Bello (31 October 2019). "Instagram influencer reportedly nabbed in Dubai for running alleged cryptocurrency investment scam". Hard Fork | The Next Web. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
- ^ Jain, Rishabh (1 November 2019). "Cryptocurrency scam: Instagram influencer Aziz Com Mirza held in Dubai". International Business Times UK. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- ^ Webb, Sam. "Suspect arrested over 'Bitcoin of the Middle East' scam". finance.yahoo.com. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- ^ a b c Farooqui, Mazhar. "Aziz Com Mirza arrested in Dubai for fraud". gulfnews.com. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- ^ HUILLET, MARIE. "'Bitcoin of the Middle East' Scam Lands Canadian Expat in Dubai Jail". Cointelegraph. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- ^ Somerville, Hannah (4 November 2019). "Self-styled entrepreneur and Instagram 'influencer' reportedly arrested after get-rich-quick scheme collapse". Ilford Recorder. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- ^ Kaaru, Steve (1 November 2019). "Entrepreneur running alleged crypto scam in Dubai now behind bars". CoinGeek. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
- ^ Cook, Oliver (1 November 2019). "SELF-STYLED ENTREPRENEUR, MENTOR & INFLUENCER AZIZ "COM" MIRZA ARRESTED IN DUBAI". AYO.NEWS. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- ^ Haan, Cali (3 November 2019). "Canadian in Dubai Arrested for Fraud, Including Crypto Fraud via Habibi Coin, the 'Bitcoin of the Middle East'". Crowdfund Insider. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- ^ Farooqui, Mazhar. "The dodgy investment schemes of Canadian-Pakistani Aziz Com Mirza". gulfnews.com. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- ^ a b Somerville, Hannah (13 December 2019). "Investors who lost thousands in Muslim entrepreneur scheme rally at Barking mosque". Barking and Dagenham Post. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- ^ Somerville, Hannah (18 February 2019). "Fraud complaints over get-rich-quick scheme that based itself at east London mosque". Barking and Dagenham Post. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- ^ Somerville, Hannah (13 December 2019). "Investors who lost thousands in Muslim entrepreneur scheme rally at Barking mosque". Barking and Dagenham Post. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- ^ "Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 I kindly request information on Department of International Trade's meeting with "Empty Trip" App Developers Rafaqat Mirza and Com (Aziz) Mirza. - a Freedom of Information request to Department for International Trade". WhatDoTheyKnow. 27 July 2018. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- ^ Farooqui, Mazhar. "Serial scammer Com Mirza sentenced to jail for fraud in Dubai". gulfnews.com. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- ^ Imran, Tayyab (26 June 2020). "Aziz Com Mirza Sentenced to Imprisonment for Committing Fraud in Dubai". NetMag Pakistan. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- ^ Duhaime, Christine. "Canadian 'serial scammer' and fake ICO issuer sentenced to jail in Dubai | Duhaime's Anti-Money Laundering & Financial Crime News". Retrieved 6 February 2021.