Latest: Forensics probe blaze as up to 60 residents rehoused in hotel
Firefighters have tackled a blaze at a residential tower in Dubai Marina.
The incident at Marina Diamond 2 in the Sayorah Street area was first reported shortly before 4am on Saturday.
Police closed the roads around the scene and residents were taken to safety, with no injuries reported, Dubai Civil Defence said.
We could smell the smoke when we went out into the corridor. We took the stairs down as fast as we could
Julia,
Russian tourist
Firefighters from Marina station were joined by crews from Emirates Martyrs and Al Barsha stations. They brought the fire under control at 5.24am.
The building was secured by 7.15am and handed over to experts to investigate the cause of the fire.
A statement from Dubai Civil Defence said the fire spread from the ninth floor to the 15th.
Dubai Police’s Emergency, Crisis and Disaster Management Centre provided accommodation for residents whose apartments were damaged in the fire.
A video showed flames spreading on the upper floors of the mid-rise tower, which has about 260 apartments and is 60 metres high.
Adnan Shauqat, a father-of-three who lives in the building, told The National: "It's 3.30am and we heard some shouting from downstairs. We woke up and came downstairs [and left the building].
"There was no fire alarm...we came down immediately and we've been here since 3.30am."
Emergency services were seen handing out water and provisions to people still in their nightwear.
When asked about the apparent failure of the building's fire alarm to sound, a civil defence spokesman said: "This issue is being investigated."
Julia, from Russia, was renting an Airbnb apartment on the 11th floor this weekend. She was woken up by someone banging on the door.
She grabbed her luggage, out of concern she may not be able to return, and took the stairs to the ground floor.
“My husband and I were sleeping and we heard a lot of noise," she told The National.
"We could smell the smoke when we went out into the corridor. It was very scary and we all were in a state of panic. We took the stairs down as fast as we could.”
Parakshit Shah, from India, lives on the fourth floor.
“I was deep asleep and woke up to the neighbour knocking on my door," he said.
"He told us there was a fire and I quickly grabbed the luggage I had already packed for my flight tomorrow and we ran down the stairs.
"Everyone was running and there was no time to even think about what was going on."
Residents of the undamaged apartments on lower floors were allowed to return shortly before 8am on Saturday.
The upper floors, including the 14th and 15th, are damaged and waterlogged.
The building's management company, Prime Association, has not made any statement.
Marina Diamond 2 is a 15-storey residential building that was constructed in 2005, with the first residents moving in in 2006. It contains a mix of studios, one and two-bedroom apartments.
The Marina Diamond project was one of the Marina's earliest developments, with the six-tower complex containing 1,300 apartments.
A series of residential fires in Dubai and Sharjah have prompted investigations by the government into the use of potentially flammable cladding.
Last year, authorities in Sharjah said they were investigating the use of flammable cladding, which was banned from use in new buildings in 2017.
That came after a major fire in Sharjah's Abbco Tower in May 2020.
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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
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Need to know
Unlike other mobile wallets and payment apps, a unique feature of eWallet is that there is no need to have a bank account, credit or debit card to do digital payments.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
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