United Arab Emirates is a country in the Middle East, formed by a federation of seven emirates.
It thrived during the pearling industry, but thrived even more when its huge oil reserve was found. In fact, UAE has showed impressive growth in economy in a few decades, and became one of the world's wealthiest states in just that short time span.
Being able to diverse its income, like through tourism, UAE managed to make Dubai as one of the top tourism destinations in the Middle East, as well as the world.
To snug itself into the exclusive territory, the country flaunted lifestyles of the rich, extravagant venues and landmarks that include the Burj Khalifa, Palm Jumeirah, Burj al-Arab, Emirates Palace, Ferrari World Abu Dhabi and more. Then, there are supercars as police cars, extravagant items for sale, and many, many more.
So here, there is no better place to flaunt wealth without being marked as a snub, than in the UAE, according to pop culture.
And this is where pop culture gets it wrong.
This is because the laws in the UAE are some of the most stringent in the world.
The government can put anyone in jail for cursing on social media platforms, or taking photos in forbidden places. Many things considered normal in the western world can result in hefty fines, deportation, or worse.
And a man learned this the hard way, when he flaunted his money at a local car dealer in Dubai, in an attempt to create an internet sensation.
This is because the UAE's Federal Prosecution for Combating Rumors and Cybercrimes has ordered his arrest, after accusing the man for abusing the internet in a propaganda post that stirs up the public opinion and harms the public interest.
The man is also charged with publishing a content that is inconsistent with the media content standards and "insults the Emirati society."
The incident happened after the Federal Bureau of Investigation at the UAE Attorney General Office was informed about a video clip on social media platforms showing the defendant wearing a traditional white Emirati dress inside a luxury car showroom.
The man, who is only later revealed as an Asian, is seen with two of his men carrying what appears to be large sums of money.
The man is then seen talking with the owner of the showroom, in which he arrogantly said that his budget, "small," as he pointed to a tray full of cash.
When the owner offers him a car worth more than Dhs2 million, he declines the offer.
He said that the car, a Ferrari SF90 at that price (nearly $600,000) is not expensive enough for him.
"I need expensive, brother," he said in the video, speaking in English with a Gulf Arab accent, as he throws cash at the store assistants to buy coffee.
"What is the most expensive car here?" he asked.
The man then goes on to order four pricey cars including an Audi, another type of Ferrari, a Rolls-Royce, and a Mercedes-Benz.
He then asks for a Red Bull, and refused receiving it for free. He is seen paying it with huge cash, as well.
The video "reveals impudence and lack of appreciation of the value of money, in a manner that promotes a wrong and offensive mental image of Emirati citizens and ridicules them", the report said.
The car showroom's owner has also been summoned.
The Public Prosecution urged the social media users in the UAE to observe the legal and ethical regulations in the media content they publish and to "consider societal characteristics and embedded values of the UAE society [...] so as to avoid falling under the force of the law."
The UAE has strict laws about information on social media.
A few months before this, a woman was given a six-month suspended prison sentence after she posted video of an exchange at a UAE book fair with a Kuwaiti author who had been imprisoned in the United States over sex offences.
Then in January 2021, several people were summoned for sharing social media footage of a Yemeni rebel attack on Abu Dhabi.
