The United Arab Emirates Public Prosecution has allegedly ordered the arrest of TikTok user Azad Amazon after an arrogant and “offensive” video was posted in violation of the country’s social media laws.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation at the State Attorney General’s Office has concluded that the video displays “sensational propaganda that will provoke public opinion and harm public interests, and accusations of publishing content that does not meet media content standards”, according to a social media post by the UAE Public Prosecutor’s office .
The video begins with an Asian man allegedly wearing Emirati clothes, sunglasses and a mask walking into a car dealership with two men behind them carrying pallets of dirhams (the UAE currency).
Once the man was inside the dealership, he walked up to a female employee and asked if she wanted a coffee. After he agreed, he held out a wad of cash.
The man then walked around the dealership to the next employee who turned out to be the owner of the establishment.
The owner begins to discuss the value of the car in the dealership with the owner. For context, the luxury car dealership has Ferrari, Rolls-Royce, Mercedes-Benz and Lamborghini vehicles, among others, on the floor.
The alleged TikToker then asked the dealership owner what the most expensive car at the dealership was. They responded by asking what Tiktoker’s alleged budget was.
The alleged TikToker later referred to the pallets of cash their associates brought into the dealership as having a “small budget”.
Both pointed to a Ferrari SF90, the dealership owner explained that the car cost 2.2 million dirhams (AU$889,105). For reference, the new SF90 Stradale in Australia currently costs $846,888 before on-roads and options.
“I need a more expensive brother. I don’t need this, my driver will drive like this,” said the alleged TikToker.
After a short walk around the dealership, the man told the owner that he was going to buy an Audi R8, a Ferrari SF90, a Rolls-Royce Dawn, a Mercedes-AMG GLC 63 S coupe, and a “red bull”.
It is estimated that the bill could total AU$2.1 million using current Australian new car prices. It is not clear what the actual amount is.
The video ends with the TikToker allegedly handing the owner a small amount of cash to the distributor’s owner, telling them to “keep the change”.
The original video is no longer visible on TikTok but a handful of users have reposted the video.
It is unclear whether the video was a prank or a serious interaction. Regardless, it will still have serious consequences.
The UAE Attorney General has also summoned the owner of the distributor in connection with the video, but there is no confirmation whether the owner has been or will be charged.
The social post when translated from Arabic to English states:
“The Federal Prosecutor’s Office for Combating Rumors and Cybercrime ordered the detention of an Asian citizen pending investigation, after he was charged with several charges, including using an information network to broadcast sensational propaganda that would inflame public opinion and harm the public interest, and charges of publishing content which does not comply with the Media content standards offending the Emirati community, based on what the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the State Attorney General’s Office monitored on social media platforms, a video clip of the accused appearing in Emirati clothes in a luxury car showroom, followed by two people carrying plate with a considerable amount of money, and he managed a Dialogue with the owner of the showroom, in which he asked to buy a car costing more than two million dirhams in an arrogant manner, and distributed financial packages to the employees of the showroom in a revealing manner stupidity and lack of appreciation for the value of money, in a way that will promote a wrong mental image and offend the people of this country. and ridicule them, and then complain of public opinion and its provocations, which are injurious to the public interest.”
The majority of commenters on the Prosector post support the arrest and defend the crimes committed against the Emirati community.
