Three cleared of cheating investors

An Indian property developer, his Emirati business partner and a British executive were cleared of setting up a bogus investment portfolio and fraud worth Dh893m.

DUBAI // An Indian property developer was yesterday acquitted of embezzling almost Dh900 million (US$240 million). KM, the chief executive of Dynasti Zarooni, his Emirati business partner and managing director, HZ, and RG, a British executive, were cleared by the Dubai Court of Misdemeanours of setting up a bogus investment portfolio and defrauding investors of Dh893m. Their lawyer, Dr Habib al Mulla, had presented documents proving contractual agreements between Dynasty Zarooni and its investors. He told the court that the investors had received more than Dh232m in profits from their investments.

He said the investors' claims had no factual basis and they had changed their statements before prosecutors and the courts. The court also threw out a civil suit filed by the investors, and granted permission for the Dynasty Zarooni executives to file a civil suit against the plaintiffs as well as awarding them Dh20,000 in temporary compensation. An appeal has been filed but no date set for it. In another case, four businessmen and their seven companies, accused of being engaged in one of the country's largest money-laundering cases, had their acquittals confirmed by the Dubai Court of Appeals. The men were charged over a £150 million (Dh827m) fraud case that involved Britain's Revenue & Customs department and companies in the Dutch Antilles, in the Caribbean.

The court found OY, a British executive, MJ, an Indian financial controller, MA, a Pakistani general manager, and AA, an Emirati employee, and seven companies they either controlled or worked for not guilty. The court however upheld the guilty lower court verdict on charges of falsifying documents and presenting the forged documents to the Central Bank. They were each sentenced to two months in prison.

The case dated back to 2005. Prosecutors alleged that the defendants laundered money to set up trading companies, a logistics company, a digital company, a property company and a money exchange. Their lawyer, Eisa bin Haidar, argued that there was little evidence against them, saying no charges had been laid against his clients in Britain or the Dutch Antilles. @Email:[e-mail]