Dubai's DSI says committed to finishing probe into previous management's conduct

The loss-making contracting firm is working with Shuaa Capital to restructure its business

Drake & Scull  is working with the Shuaa Capital on its restructuring. Rich-Joseph Facun / The National

Drake & Scull International is committed to finishing its ongoing investigation into the actions taken by the firm’s previous management as the Dubai-based contractor continues to restructure its business, the company said.

“It is our duty to protect the rights of our shareholders who trusted us and invested in this company,” Shafiq Abdelhamid, the company's chairman, said in a statement on Wednesday. “We will pursue everyone who was involved and is proven guilty of jeopardising in any manner the best interests of our shareholders and undermining their trust in the company.”

The loss-making contractor has already filed 15 criminal complaints against former company board members and executive management, which are still under investigation by the relevant authorities, the company said, without naming the people.

The ongoing investigations have led to the filing of additional criminal complaints and probes are also underway to see if more offences were committed against the firm, according to the statement.

The company said its internal investigations have established that during the previous management’s tenure between 2009-2017, DSI suffered a series of annual losses that were hidden from shareholders. The losses increased from Dh939 million in 2015 to Dh1.39 billion in 2017, reaching a total of Dh3.15bn by 2017, representing approximately three times the company’s total paid up capital, it said.

The company said it is working with Shuaa Capital to “support our restructuring, to transform DSI and bring it back to profitability”.

“We are awaiting the results of the ongoing investigations and a fair verdict that will protect the rights of our shareholders and help the company to rebuild its reputation and reinforce its claims,” the chairman said.

DSI’s shares are suspended from trading on the Dubai Financial Market after losing 84 per cent of their value last year. The company in November 2018 said it is working with the bourse and the market regulator to lift the suspension. Its last financial statements for the third quarter of last year show the company's accumulated losses had grown to more than Dh1.1bn.