Twelve rules every record has to pass.

Before anything goes live we ask a plain question: does this help people understand something that genuinely matters to them? Fraud and scams, court and regulatory action, the conduct of businesses, the movement of money, sanctions and ownership all qualify. Curiosity on its own does not.

Where a publication is governed by a particular country’s law, we take account of any public-interest protection that law offers, including [APPLICABLE DEFAMATION LAW]. We meet our own public-interest test whether or not a legal defence would be available.

Each of these is a different moment in a case, and we name it as such:

Reputation is protected by law in the UAE and in most places we write about, under [APPLICABLE DEFAMATION LAW]. Our own verification standard applies to every record regardless of where the legal line sits.

We work from judgments and court files, charge sheets, regulator notices, government and free-zone records, company registries, sanctions lists, authenticated documents, interviews, open-source research and lawful visits in person.

We look for independent confirmation of material claims whenever we reasonably can, and we keep three questions separate every time:

• What does the source say?
• What does the document actually prove?
• What, if anything, has a court or competent authority decided?

We handle personal information in line with [APPLICABLE DATA PROTECTION LAW] and any other privacy rules that cover a particular record.

Where the law makes special provision for journalism or public-interest publication, we rely on it only when its conditions are actually met — it is never treated as a blanket exemption.

Material investigative records may, where required, include review in the UAE and in other jurisdictions involved, under our internal procedures:

Depending on the matter, that review can consider:

It is a safeguard inside our own process — not a court ruling and not an independent certificate that the facts are true.

When it is reasonably practical, the person or company concerned is told what we intend to publish and asked to respond before we do.

What they send is tested against the evidence, like anything else.

Silence is not a confession. A refusal to comment, a missed deadline or a bare denial neither proves nor disproves anything by itself.

We accept no money, gifts, favours or other benefit in exchange for removing, hiding, delaying, toning down or materially altering a record.

Anyone named can still ask us to correct or update a record by sending relevant evidence. Grounds we take seriously include:

A Research Membership or any paid service carries no right to a particular editorial outcome.

Our investigators use public registries, court and company databases, regulator records, open-source research, interviews, field visits and other legitimate techniques.

We never approve hacking, posing as someone else, paying for information, stealing documents or any other unlawful way of obtaining material.

Confidential material that reaches us is checked for origin, authenticity and relevance before we rely on any part of it.

What sits in a research file is not automatically fit for the public record.

Personal information is published only when it is relevant to the matter and lawful to publish in the circumstances. Sensitive data, information about alleged offences, home addresses, family details and anything that could expose someone to needless risk get extra scrutiny.

Until a competent court or authority decides, an allegation is reported as an allegation and an open case as open.

A complaint, charge, police report, regulatory inquiry or lawsuit is never treated as proof of what it alleges.

When a matter ends — in dismissal, acquittal, a successful appeal, a settlement, a delisting or another significant outcome — the record says so.

Members, subjects, complainants, sources, advertisers and partners have no contractual or editorial power to decide what an investigation concludes.

A paid Dubai Scammers membership may unlock research tools, databases or professional services. It never buys kinder coverage, a takedown, an edit or a different evidence grade.

An allegation is called an allegation. A case in progress is called a case in progress.

A finding is reported with the authority that made it. A clearance, acquittal or reversal is reported just as prominently.

We are not aiming for the most damaging conclusion — we are aiming for the account we can best defend from the documents.