Photo for illustrative purposes only. ARCHIVE

The Dubai Criminal Court acquitted four Asians for allegedly taking Dh200 million belonging to an Asian investor who claimed he gave them money to build a luxury hotel in Dubai and a company to run it. The case began in 2018 when an Asian investor reported that persons of his nationality had grabbed his money. He stated that he had arranged with a friend (one of the defendants) to build a 5-star hotel in the Emirate of Dubai and to form a company to run the hotel because the latter has the nationality of a western country and can travel between countries more quickly. However, after several years he discovered that neither the hotel nor the company had been built. The investor also stated in his statement that he had submitted to the relevant authorities all documents proving his ownership of the hotel and the company to be established in the Emirate of Dubai, as well as an account statement confirming his transfer of money to the same company run by his friend (the main suspect) and three others, including his friend's wife. In the defense memorandum, the defendants' lawyer, Saeed Ali Al Taher, contended that his client had not received money from the investor and that his client was the valid owner of the establishment, not the investor, as he had stated. According to the lawyer, his client was kidnapped by the investor and made to sign a waiver of the hotel and the firm. As a result, the lawyer asked the Court to appoint an auditor to investigate the legitimacy of the transfers the investor said he made to his client and his partners while the money was being seized. As a result, the Court appointed a three-member committee from the Expertise and Dispute Resolution Department to review the materials supplied by the parties. The committee claimed that the first defendant controlled the company's incorporation, commercial license, and the hotel to be built since its beginning. However, the investor indicated that they are in the first defendant's name in fake terms and that he does not genuinely own them. According to the investigation, the money was tied to commercial activities, transaction completion, and the supply of materials and artworks between the investor and the accused. BKM/ Expat Media
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