Fraudulent Saudi real estate firms to be liquidated

Fraudulent Saudi real estate firms to be liquidated

Firms cited for fraudulent practices, investors to recover their money.

May 27, 2010 8:19 by Rasha Reslan

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry’s real estate committee has announced plans to liquidate as many as 16 listed real estate firms for their involvement in fraudulent schemes.

The committee will also help affected investors get their money back as soon as possible.

The move is line with an earlier directive from Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah to end the suffering of Saudis who had invested in various real estate firms, according to sources at the committee.

The committee unveiled plans to authorize accounting offices to start necessary liquidation procedures after they have been provided with a list of shareholders of these firms.

The committee had earlier taken a series of punitive measures against these companies in accordance with a decision of the Council of Ministers early last year.

These included imposing a travel ban on the owners of selected firms, naming some of them as part of the wanted list, banning some of the companies from trading and issuing a court summons to those who refused to cooperate with the committee.

The committee also executed orders to stop these firms from trading their stocks, as well as temporarily freezing their owners’ assets, including bank accounts, bonds and securities and investment portfolios.

Cases of Saudi investors falling prey to real estate scams are often reported in the local media.

–Arabnews