Deyaar in hot water

Deyaar in hot water

Former Deyaar employees have been accused of orchestrating a web of fraud and bribery by a team of prosecutors appointed by Sheikh Mohammed. This is getting serious.

June 22, 2009 9:46 by Dana El Baltaji

Two ex-Deyaar employees have been charged with fraud by a team of prosecutors in a case that was presented to the Dubai Court of First Instance on Sunday, reports The National. The prosecutors, part of an independent team of investigators appointed by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Ruler of Dubai and Vice President of the UAE, accused the defendants of buying and selling land illegally, and accepting massive kickbacks from their deals.

The legal team, led by Mohammed Mustafa Hussain, has been given unprecedented access to government-owned firms Deyaar and Dubai Islamic Bank to investigate the extend of illegal activities.

Hussain explained to the court that the Deyaar employees, identified as SA, an Emirati, and IJ, are part of a complicated network of fraudsters employed by the developer. The two men have been accused of buying land and selling it to Deyaar only days later for almost twice its value.

Both men have been out on bail.

Only one of the two men, SA, appeared in court on Sunday accompanied by three lawyers. SA, who served on Deyaar’s board of directors and was an executive of Dubai Islamic Bank, bought land in Dubai Marina valued at AED415.8 million (US$113.28m) on September 23, 2007; two days later it was sold to Deyaar for AED800 million. The prosecution claims SA made a commission of AED11.5 million from the deal.

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Tags: Crime, Deyaar, Dubai, Dubai Islamic Bank, fraud, Real estate, Sheikh Mohammed, UAE