The sentencing of Sydney Lemos and Ryan Fernandez will bring some comfort to the hundreds of people who invested their savings and the proceeds of bank loans with Exential Group, and what turned out to be a Ponzi scheme.
The Dubai foreign exchange trading scheme seemed like a shoo-in investment, promising annual returns of up to 120 per cent. For a US$25,000 (Dh91,825) deposit, an account could be opened with the money invested in foreign currency, and traded when markets fluctuated using a complicated computer algorithm.
The reality was a scheme that paid out profits from new investor’s money, and in July 2016, the Department of Economic Development ordered them to cease trading while they investigated complaints by clients that due payments had dried up.
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MAIN STORY: 500 years in jail for Dubai agents who scammed hundreds
EDITORIAL: A 500-year sentence shows fraud will be met with the iron fist of justice
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Groups of Filipino churchgoers, Emirates cabin crew and many others looking to build a nest egg for their futures found their money tied up in accounts they couldn’t access in offshore banking systems.
Prior to the sentencing, lawyers working on their behalf insisted the case was rapidly moving forward, and once assets had been locked down and a court judgement issued, specialist firms appointed to find the investments could soon recover the cash.
Last year, a Dubai court ordered that the rogue financial company repay Dh1 million to one of its victims, a Filipino cabin crew member, in what lawyers called a land-mark decision.
“Exential tried to baffle their clients with jargon to make it difficult for them,” said Barney Almazar, head of legal aid at the Philippine embassy.
“They claimed they were not the ones who invested the funds but they were the ones who had been given the cash so were equally liable for the losses.”
“Most of the investors borrowed a lot of money so they did not have the cash to fund a trial, and a local lawyer is very expensive,” Mr Almazar said.
One church group had more than 90 parishioners who together invested more than Dh6m.
Those on the trail of assets hidden around the world claimed chief executive Sydney Lemos, from Goa, India, was a fall guy, taking the hit for bigger players behind the scenes.
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
It's up to you to go green
Nils El Accad, chief executive and owner of Organic Foods and Café, says going green is about “lifestyle and attitude” rather than a “money change”; people need to plan ahead to fill water bottles in advance and take their own bags to the supermarket, he says.
“People always want someone else to do the work; it doesn’t work like that,” he adds. “The first step: you have to consciously make that decision and change.”
When he gets a takeaway, says Mr El Accad, he takes his own glass jars instead of accepting disposable aluminium containers, paper napkins and plastic tubs, cutlery and bags from restaurants.
He also plants his own crops and herbs at home and at the Sheikh Zayed store, from basil and rosemary to beans, squashes and papayas. “If you’re going to water anything, better it be tomatoes and cucumbers, something edible, than grass,” he says.
“All this throwaway plastic - cups, bottles, forks - has to go first,” says Mr El Accad, who has banned all disposable straws, whether plastic or even paper, from the café chain.
One of the latest changes he has implemented at his stores is to offer refills of liquid laundry detergent, to save plastic. The two brands Organic Foods stocks, Organic Larder and Sonnett, are both “triple-certified - you could eat the product”.
The Organic Larder detergent will soon be delivered in 200-litre metal oil drums before being decanted into 20-litre containers in-store.
Customers can refill their bottles at least 30 times before they start to degrade, he says. Organic Larder costs Dh35.75 for one litre and Dh62 for 2.75 litres and refills will cost 15 to 20 per cent less, Mr El Accad says.
But while there are savings to be had, going green tends to come with upfront costs and extra work and planning. Are we ready to refill bottles rather than throw them away? “You have to change,” says Mr El Accad. “I can only make it available.”
MATCH INFO
Manchester United 6 (McTominay 2', 3'; Fernandes 20', 70' pen; Lindelof 37'; James 65')
Leeds United 2 (Cooper 41'; Dallas 73')
Man of the match: Scott McTominay (Manchester United)
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km
Price: Dh133,900
On sale: now
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
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