year-old Saudi businessman's claims of being swindled out of a SR12 million plot of land by three con men are being studied by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Jeddah Police. The businessman, who filed the complaint at Al-Sharafia Police Station, said that the three men convinced him to sell his plot of land in Abha to a merchant who urgently needed the land for an important commercial project in the region. The businessman met the three swindlers in a well-known hotel to conclude the deal. The con man playing the part of the merchant who wished to purchase the land was dressed like a well-to-do businessman and spent time taking telephone calls purportedly from European countries regarding the speedy delivery of goods and machinery that he had ordered for his factory in one of the regions of the Kingdom. The part was played so convincingly that the victim had no doubts, agreed to sell his land, accepted a check for SR12 million, and signed over the title deed and ownership of his land to the bogus merchant. The next day the businessman went to the bank to cash the check only to be told there was no money in the account, he realized he had been duped. He immediately went to the authorities to prevent the change of ownership of the land, but it was too late. The con man, who played the role of the merchant, had already changed the ownership of the land to a broker, who had earlier negotiated with the victim for purchasing the land. The broker told the victim that he had a customer for the land, and the victim rushed to the security authorities to file a complaint. The security authorities moved fast before the land could be sold to others. They arrested the so-called merchant but police are still searching for the broker. Police said the broker is a licensed real-estate dealer. The security authorities are trying to determine the role of the third man who was present in the hotel when the deal was concluded and whether or not he was involved in the fraud. – Okaz __
