The offices of Gulf First Commercial Brokers, located in the Capital Golden Tower in Dubai’s Business Bay, stand abandoned with remnants of a once-active trading firm now vacant.

Last month, approximately 40 employees operated from suites 302 and 305, engaging in aggressive outreach to potential investors with enticing forex trading offers.

However, the premises are now empty, with phone lines severed and substantial sums of investor money reportedly unaccounted for.

Among those impacted are Keralite expatriates Mohammad and Fayaz Poyyl, who collectively lost $75,000, leading them to seek answers at the defunct office.

"I came here looking for answers, but there's nothing, no one.

Just empty offices.

We called every number, but no one responded.

It’s like they never existed," Fayaz shared.

Details surrounding the investment scheme are unfolding.

Sanjiv, another Indian investor, recounted how Gulf First Commercial Brokers directed clients towards Sigma-One Capital, an entity operating without the necessary regulatory approval from the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) or the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA).

He remarked, "They guaranteed safe returns," which he claims led him to invest his life savings.

Mohammad, who lost $50,000, stated that employees of Gulf First consistently interchanged the names of their company and Sigma-One, leading investors to believe they were part of the same operation.

A police complaint has since been lodged against both firms.

Sigma-One Capital purports to be registered in St. Lucia and claims to operate from Bur Dubai.

However, investigations reveal that no such office exists, and records indicate the company has never functioned from this location.

"I wish I'd checked their credentials.

Now we're left with empty offices and emptier bank accounts," said one investor.

This incident echoes a broader pattern of fraudulent activities targeting investors in the UAE.

In March, reports highlighted how residents lost millions to trading platforms such as DuttFx and EVM Prime, which were similarly advertised through unsolicited calls promising secure trading environments.

Victims frequently maxed out credit cards or took out personal loans, only to realize post-investment that these companies operated fictitious Dubai offices.

Fayaz described how he was persuaded to commit an initial deposit of $1,000, only to be pressured into further investments through false assurances of profitability.

Another investor, who reportedly lost over $230,000, mentioned that his relationship manager, who spoke his native Kannada, lured him with gradual profit displays on the platform.

He stated, "The platform showed small profits at first, and I even withdrew some money — just enough to build trust.

Then the pressure started.

They blocked withdrawals and pushed me toward riskier trades while demanding more deposits."

As trading conditions worsened, he noted irregularities within the trading platform, including bizarre asset listings.

In a desperate attempt to reclaim losses, he used credit cards and personal savings, eventually leading to severe financial distress.

He articulated feelings of being trapped in a cycle of investment promises that led only to further losses.

Security personnel at the Capital Golden Tower reported a hurried evacuation of the firms' offices, noting that staff cleared out and returned their keys abruptly.

"They returned the keys, cleared everything out and left like they were in a hurry," one guard commented.

"Now we have people coming daily asking about them."

Sources indicate this operation followed a methodical pattern, with call centers initiating contact with unsuspecting targets before assigning them to relationship managers for further investment solicitation.

Attempts to reach personnel from Sigma-One and Gulf First Commercial Brokers yielded little to no response, with the lone individual who answered, a regional manager, terminating the call upon identifying the inquiry as a media request.