UAE

Fake visas costing Dh75,000 lead to 11 arrests

The suspects allegedly processed 55 residency visas for Asian and Arab applicants for Dh75,000 each.

Yasin Kakande

January 26, 2012

AJMAN // Three Emirati government employees have been arrested on suspicion of taking bribes to process residency visas that had already been rejected.

The two civilians and a military employee accused include two women who worked for the Ajman department of residency and foreign affairs.

Ajman Police, in coordination with State Security officers, also arrested eight people of Arab and Asian nationalities on suspicion of acting as middlemen.

Three of them worked in the visa typing centre.

The suspects allegedly processed 55 residency visas for Asian and Arab applicants for Dh75,000 each.

The police have arrested 25 people believed to have been issued these visas. The others have not yet entered the country, said Brig Sheikh Sultan Al Nuaimi, the deputy director of Ajman Police. "Police received a tip-off about these employees and their network," he said. "The police then formed a team and started the search and investigation in an operation called 'Spider Net', carried out in cooperation with State Security Police."

Brig Al Nuaimi said the visas the suspects processed included those rejected for reasons such as failing to provide genuine education certificates. Others had been refused for security reasons.

"The employees knew that the university degrees provided were fake but still processed and issued the residency visas," he said. "These employees have abused their positions, committed a breach of trust and received bribes."

Brig Al Nuaimi said that the 25 people arrested for receiving residency visas had been referred to the public prosecution for offering bribes. The remaining 30 allegedly issued visas will be arrested if they attempt to enter the country.

An employee who receives a bribe faces 10 years in prison and those who offer the bribe face five years.

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.”

Five expert hiking tips
    Always check the weather forecast before setting off Make sure you have plenty of water Set off early to avoid sudden weather changes in the afternoon Wear appropriate clothing and footwear Take your litter home with you
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Emirates flies to Delhi with fares starting from around Dh760 return, while Etihad fares cost about Dh783 return. From Delhi, there are connecting flights to Lucknow. 
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