Tycoon denies cheques charge

The Egyptian businessman Nabil al Boushi denies writing a bad cheque for US$6.1m in Dubai.

DUBAI// An Egyptian tycoon pleaded not guilty yesterday to issuing a bad cheque for US$6.1million (Dh22.5m), claiming that he wrote it in Cairo and not in Dubai. Nabil al Boushi has been detained at Muragabat police station since his arrest last month. He is also accused of writing another bad cheque for US$1.8m. Prosecutors in Egypt are investigating allegations that Mr al Boushi accepted millions of dollars from Egyptian depositors under the pretext of investing the funds, the Egyptian press reported in early February. He is alleged to have transferred US$13m from his Egypt-based company to Dubai to pay back plaintiffs in Dubai to whom he is accused of issuing bad cheques. One case has already been settled out of court. Last month, the Dubai Attorney General, Issam al Humaidan, referred Mr al Boushi to the Dubai Misdemeanours Court on charges of issuing dud cheques with bad intent. The Dubai Advocate General, Khalifa bin Deemas, said the alleged victim in the case, an Egyptian national named Ibrahim Karar, filed a complaint against Mr al Boushi at Bur Dubai police station. He claimed Mr al Boushi gave him the cheques in December 2007 at his home in Jumeirah as a guarantee for investments. [e-mail]