The defendants in the “Diyar” case are brought to justice

The Public Prosecutor in Dubai, Counselor Essam Issa Al-Humaidan, referred those involved in financial corruption cases at Deyaar Development Company, one of the major real estate companies registered in the emirate, to the Dubai Criminal Court, after the prosecution completed “extensive investigations, which it began since May of last year.” “Given the necessities related to mathematical expertise, the multiplicity of facts, and the large number of defendants,” according to a press statement issued by the Public Prosecutor’s Office yesterday.

Accordingly, the former Minister of State for Financial Affairs, Muhammad Khalfan Kharbash, who was Chairman of the Board of Directors of Deyaar, will soon appear before the court, and the prosecution accused him of “seizing public funds, harming the interests of the state, and facilitating the seizure of the second defendant, the former CEO of the company, Zak Shaheen, ( An American of Lebanese origin) received sums belonging to the company,” while Shaheen accused himself of participating in the same crimes, in addition to receiving sums of money as bribes. The accused, John Dacunha (Indian), who is a fugitive from justice, was also referred to court “in the context of the case” that sparked widespread local controversy, and experts and observers considered that it “reflects the seriousness of the Dubai government in fighting corruption forcefully.”

Al-Humaidan stated that “two other cases branched off from the case, one of which was referred to the Dubai Criminal Court, in which the former member of the Board of Directors of Deyaar Company, Saad Mohammed Sharif Abdul Razzaq (Emirati), and businessman Ismail Aqeel Al-Janahi (Emirati), will be represented, on charges that the former received sums from the latter.” Financial bribery in violation of job duties.

Abdul Razzaq left Dubai Islamic Bank, which owns 40% of Deyaar shares, as its CEO, and joined the Dubai Investment Corporation in 2007.

As for the second case referred to the Dubai Misdemeanor Court, nine defendants were referred, namely: the former CEO of the company, Zak Shaheen, the director of Master Brand Middle East Limited, Jansyan Krishna Kumar (Indian), and the sales director at Deyaar Brokerage, Charbel Boutros. Al-Hasrouni (Lebanese), Jose Mebar (Argentine), along with Hisham Saeed Khattab (Palestinian), Goldie Om Parkash (Indian), and Hamid Shabir bin Khawaja (Pakistani), John D’Cunha (Indian), and Navin Sanwal Punjabi (Indian) on charges of breach of trust, fraud, forgery, and divulging secrets,” according to Al-Humaidan.

The Public Prosecutor in Dubai pointed out that “the referral was made after the end of the extensive investigations initiated by the Bur Dubai Prosecution, headed by Counselor Sami Al Shamsi, and the investigation was undertaken by Assistant Chief Prosecutor Khaled Al Zarouni, under the supervision of the Technical Office of the Public Prosecutor.” He explained that “the investigations took several months to prepare the work.” “arithmetic experience,” stressing that it “resulted in several incidents of financial corruption in which the defendants were involved, and the total amount of exaggerated amounts amounted to tens of millions of dirhams.”

Al-Humaidan stated that “the Public Prosecution has provided all defendants with all means of defense within the frameworks guaranteed by the law, and work is underway to announce the defendants and set trial sessions.”

It is noteworthy that the financial oversight report submitted to the Public Prosecution last November included information about Zac Shaheen’s embezzlement of an amount exceeding 31 million dirhams, while the total amounts embezzled by the accused and his partners are estimated at more than 98 million dirhams, in addition to the transfer of embezzled amounts between accounts in banks. Several countries, including: Switzerland, Lebanon, and the United States.

The American newspaper “Financial Times” reported months ago that “the Dubai government’s financial audit department stated in its report that Kharbash was involved with Zak Shaheen as a matter of mutual benefit between them.”

The report stated that in March of last year, Kharbash paid an amount of 33.4 million dirhams to the benefit of Deyaar, after the financial audit department discovered that the cost of two properties owned by Kharbash, “Churchill Tower” and “Saif Tower,” were covered by “Deyaar.” The Board of Directors formed committees for financial and technical audit, bonuses, and pricing to supervise the company’s contracts and bonuses for its employees. The Board of Directors prohibited any future dealings with companies affiliated with members of the Board of Directors.

In this context, Ali Al Shehabi, CEO of the investment bank “Rasmala”, told Agence France-Presse yesterday that referring corruption cases to court “is a point in the interest of the Dubai government, as it has decided to combat this problem effectively, regardless of the negative publicity that this will create.” ». He added, “The classic Arab approach is to hide these problems under the hood, or ignore them completely. These moves against corruption will enhance the quality of the business environment in Dubai.”