Courts

Al Boom charges valid: prosecutors

Public prosecutors yesterday countered defence claims that the arraignment of their client in the Dh960 million al Boom trial was invalidated by a royal decree.

Awad Mustafa

December 20, 2010

DUBAI // Public prosecutors yesterday countered defence claims that the arraignment of their client in the Dh960 million al Boom trial was invalidated by a royal decree. The prosecutors said the charges were laid before the decree was made.

Abed al Boom, who is charged with breach of trust, has been accused by prosecutors of spending almost Dh960m of property investor funds on parties, boats and luxury cars, leaving only one per cent of the amount allegedly embezzled left to be seized.

Defence lawyers representing Mr al Boom and his six co-defendants told the court during its last hearing that the prosecution's arraignment of Mr al Boom had been invalidated by a royal decree issued by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, on August 4, 2009.

According to the executive decree, a committee was set up to liquidate Mr al Boom's assets. A special committee was ordered to oversee the liquidation process and collect on behalf of third parties, without contest to its decisions. No appeal is possible.

The decree also stopped all civil, judicial and legal proceedings under way against Mr al Boom, including criminal proceedings that had been brought after the order.

But the Deira chief prosecutor, Yousif Foulaz, told the court yesterday that the charges were issued two months before the executive decree was made.

"We have issued our charge sheet from June 4, your honour, two months before the decree," he told the court. "Our action was legal and in accordance with the law."

Defence lawyers have requested the release of Mr al Boom on bail. The court dismissed the request.

Prosecutors have claimed Mr al Boom purchased 53 luxury vehicles for himself and his managers. They said he also purchased a yacht for himself and two other boats, one specifically for parties and receptions. They said he also spent millions on specialised number plates, and donated millions to football clubs.

He allegedly defrauded 3,700 investors of Dh960m through a bogus property portfolio.

The court will reconvene on January 2 for the defence to respond to the prosecutors' statements.

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WBO Light Welterweight champion - 2004-06
WBA Welterweight champion – 2006-08
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WBA Light Middleweight champion – 2010-12
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WBO Light Middleweight champion – Aug 2017-Dec 2017

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Number of Chinese tourists coming to UAE in 2017 was... 1.3m

Alibaba’s new ‘Tech Town’  in Dubai is worth... $600m

China’s investment in the MIddle East in 2016 was... $29.5bn

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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.”

Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

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Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.

Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines: 

Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.

Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.

Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.

Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.

Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.

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Dos

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  • Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
  • Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work 
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