Sheikh Mohammed Ruler of Dubai has told the emirates`s critics to ” Shut Up”

original source 7Days

Dubai Ruler tells critics to ‘do their homework’ as he stresses unity and confidence in the future

The Ruler of Dubai has told the emirate’s critics to ‘shut up’.

HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum yesterday broke away from a pre-prepared speech in Arabic on the Dubai economy to make his point in English.

His remark was directed at people who have tried to suggest there is a wedge between the emirates of Dubai and Abu Dhabi after Dubai drew a $10 billion emergency loan from the UAE central bank.

But Sheikh Mohammed said these people “should really do their homework” about his country.

“I just want to tell these people who nag about Dubai and Abu Dhabi to shut up,” he told the MENA and Frontiers Conference in Dubai, organised by Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Sheikh Mohammed, who is also the prime minister and vice president of the UAE, stressed the close ties between Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

“Dubai and Abu Dhabi are one,” he said, adding: “I assure you that we’ll be there for each other when we need it.”

The comments were clearly aimed at dispelling perceptions of a rivalry between the two emirates.

There have been accusations around the globe that Abu Dhabi has become jealous of Dubai’s success in recent years as it tries to diversify its economy away from a dependence on oil.

But yesterday, in rare public comments on the subject, Sheikh Mohammed stressed the tribal bonds and blood relations between the emirates’ rulers.

“We, our fathers, grandfathers have fought for the Arabian Peninsula,” Sheikh Mohammed said. “We are very, very proud of our country, very proud of our people… And our people (are) very proud of us.”

The ruler also confronted critics who say Dubai was slow to react to the global financial crisis.

He said the government “preferred to wait rather than rushing” so it could restructure state-owned companies. And Sheikh Mohammed said he
was confident the worst of the crisis was over.

“As the global economy stabilises, Dubai today is well placed to exploit its inherent strength,” he said.

“The slowdown will never dampen the mettle of children of Dubai to steam forward in the drive toward development,’’ he added.

Dubai faces a debt of about $80 billion. As well as the $10 billion loan, it expects to raise an additional $10 billion in financing before the end of the year.

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Dubai – Sheikh Mohammed`s speech at Bank of America Merill Lynch investment conference

original source SheikhMohammed

Follow the link to read an edited translation of the speech of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum Ruler of Dubai at an investment conference organized by the Bank of America Merill Lynch in Dubai.
Link

Video of the speech

Dubai residents say their water and electricity bills as much as doubled in September

A group has even formed on the social networking site Facebook called “My Dewa bill increased in September 09 by a crazy amount for no reason!”

One member claimed the bill for his three-bedroom flat in Al Barsha was Dh8,000. As of yesterday, the group had 144 members. Other Dubai-based websites have jumped on the bandwagon and are running similar discussions about what is causing the bills to shoot up.

read the full report original source The National

Mr. FIX IT in Dubai

It`s said… this is a true story …..about a so called “Mr. Fix It” brought to you over a search…
original published by Prakash Subbanao.
Click on the Link and enjoy reading !

Dubai – More than a half million bounced cheques between January and May 2009

Bounced cheques are regarded legally as fraud, a criminal offence punishable by jail in Dubai and the UAE.

With more than a half-million cheques bounced between January and May of this year alone, the cases have been putting an increasing strain on the legal system.

But now the hard walls of debtors’ prison are beginning to crack.

No longer will home buyers in Dubai who cancel postdated cheques because of a developer’s missed deadlines or broken promises automatically face jail.

Instead of being investigated by police or prosecuted, delinquent tenants and homeowners will be referred to a new judicial committee that will make a binding judgment on whether they should be held to payment. It will also deal with developers who run into financial difficulties and cannot pay their investors.
read the full aricle in The National original source

Dubai Prosecutors will hunt former senior executive of Istithmar World

Dubai, 05 November 2009
An Interpol Red Notice could be issued for the arrest and possible extradition of Chris Turner, who was sentenced in absentia to five years in jail for embezzling AED4.9 million ($1.3m), UAE daily The National reported on Thursday.

The former risk assessment manager for the investment arm of Dubai World was also ordered by Dubai Criminal Court to pay $2.7m in fines and restitution.

Turner, speaking to newswire Zawya Dow Jones from a location outside the UAE, said: “I’m innocent of the charges and I’m not in the country. I’m reviewing my legal options.”

“This is a matter for the appropriate authorities,” said a spokesman at Istithmar World in an emailed statement to the newswire.

But prosecutors in the UAE said they would hunt for him.

source Arabian Business here read the full article

Fraud in Dubai and the Gulf Region – Just the tip of the iceberg

source The National

It is more than a year since Dubai launched a highly publicised clampdown on corruption, which led to the arrest of several executives from some of the emirate’s top property developers and financial institutions.

But while Dubai grabbed the international headlines, it represented just the tip of the iceberg in a region that has been identified as a hot spot of corruption.

Kroll, an international risk consultancy, said last week the Middle East was the world’s only region to see a rise in fraud in the past year. It singled out corruption and bribery as the single largest threats.
“For seven out of 10 cases of fraud, it had the highest incidence of any region, including bribery and corruption,” Kroll said. Average financial losses from corruption doubled to US$11.5 million (Dh42.2m) this year from $5.6m last year, it said.

read more of this article….

Shareholders’ equity of the top 150 Arab banks is just 170 billion dollars – Gulf Banks cannot finance huge projects alone

source Zawya

Nov 02, 2009 (AFP) – Gulf and Arab banks are unable to finance huge projects in the oil-rich Gulf region and fill a credit gap created by the withdrawal of foreign banks amid the global financial crisis, bankers said on Monday.

“The total shareholders’ equity of the top 150 Arab banks is just 170 billion dollars,” Shaikha al-Bahar, deputy chief executive of National Bank of Kuwait, told the Kuwait Financial Forum.

“These banks are not capable of financing huge projects. We have limitations,” said Bahar, adding that the cost of projects in Gulf states over the next several years is estimated at more than 2.1 trillion dollars.

The global financial crisis has resulted in a major credit squeeze, forcing many countries in the region to cancel or postpone hundreds of projects for a lack of finance that was mainly provided by international banks.

The cost of lending also became expensive, thus raising the cost of projects.

Jean-Christophe Durand, BNP Paribas managing director in the Gulf, said good projects will still be able to attract capital at the right price.

“(But) we still need international banks,” for financing of major projects in the Gulf, he said.

Abdulaziz al-Ghurair, chief executive of Mashreq Bank in the United Arab Emirates, said Gulf banks can fill part of the credit gap with some help.

“Gulf banks can fill the (credit) gap created by foreign banks… provided risk is distributed at all Gulf states and with help from other sources,” he said.

Speakers said cash-abundant Gulf governments are required to play a key role in financing mega projects, while others said local investment companies should also contribute.

Banks in the Gulf have been strongly affected by the credit crunch and many were exposed to bad debt, resulting mainly from a slide in the value of assets and problems at investment firms and family companies.

All central banks in the region have asked banks to allocate provisions against bad loans, a process that impacted profits of Gulf lenders.

Former Kuwaiti finance minister Mahmud al-Nuri said he believes Gulf banks will not be able to face the post-crisis conditions without key mergers.

“I believe that over the next five years, there should be three to four regional bank mergers. This is very necessary,” he said.

Ghurair said there has been no strategic plan for bank mergers in Arab countries and the few mergers that took place were among distressed banks. “I hope there will be some strategic mergers in the next decade.”

Dubai Good News – Dubai property dispute victims to get free legal advice – Let`s Hope that this is not again only a promise

source Arabian Business

Dubai Land Department on Monday announced a new initiative to introduce a free legal service to support home owners involved in real estate-related court cases.

The announcement follows a meeting between senior Land Department officials and representatives of law firms to finalise details of the move.

The Land Department said an agreement had been signed which would see the law firms become part of a new Legal Care Group.

The group will bring together senior lawyers, professional firms and consultants to offer free legal assistance to members of the public with “genuine real estate issues” who might otherwise be dissuaded from taking action because of the prohibitive cost of fees, the Land Department said in a statement.

Mohammed Sultan Thani, assistant director general of the Dubai Land Department, said: “The objective of this initiative is not merely to meet a need but to ensure fairness and justice is available to anyone who might have a concern which involves property, no matter their circumstances.

“This reflects the government’s commitment to ensuring there is in place a comprehensive equitable system of legalizing ownership and property transactions.”

He added: “Now, no one is prevented from pursuing their rights merely because of the possibility they might be priced out of the legal system.”

Richard Green, head of research at CB Richard Ellis Middle East, said: “The offer of free legal advice is another step in the right direction. Overall confidence in the legal dispute system has been somewhat low due to a time lag in addressing the current case backlog.

“This announcement will go some way to renewing faith in the system as well as providing confidence to individual investors facing financial difficulties in their disputes against developers.

“Overall this is seen as another positive advancement for the Dubai market.”

In August it was reported that property dispute cases that were originally submitted to the Real Estate Regulatory Agency (Rera) and Dubai Courts are now being dealt with by Dubai’s new Property Court.

The new court, which started operations in October, was set up under the First Instance Court to deal exclusively with property-related cases.

Dubai Properties Chairman arrested on suspection of embezzlement

source Bloomberg October 30 2009

Oct. 30 (Bloomberg) — Hashim Al Dabal, chairman of Dubai Properties LLC has been arrested on suspicion of embezzlement at the state-owned company that’s in merger talks with Emaar Properties PJSC, the emirate’s attorney general said.

“Mr. Al Dabal is accused of abusing his position and earning millions in illegal profit,” Attorney General Essam Essa al-Humaidan said in a phone interview today. “We are questioning him almost daily and Mr. Al Dabal indicated he is ready to answer questions without having a lawyer present.”

more….

Emirates Press Law and the Media Blackout

source arbabMediasociety October 2009

On May 29, the London-based daily The Independent published an article entitled Dubai property scandal claim emerges amid media blackout. According to the report, a group of investors who had bought properties in buildings by Al Fajer Group, a company run by Sheikh Maktoum bin Hasher Al Maktoum, held a press conference to accuse the developer of fraud, according to The Independent.

The investors allege that the developer Al Fajer Properties showed them photographs of buildings it claimed were Ebony 1, Ivory 1 and Ivory 2, but were in fact buildings belonging to another developer.
 
The investors were demanding a refund totaling GBP86 million.

Unfortunately, the investors didn’t get the sort of press they had hoped for.

Incidentally, Sheikh Maktoum bin Hasher Al Maktoum is the brother-in-law to the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and soon after the press conference finished, Dubai government officials warned news agencies against publishing articles on the press conference.

“I had written half of the article when I was told by my editor to stop,” a Dubai-based reporter told The Independent. “The investor’s group has records of payment, and it’s obvious that they have been shafted, but we can’t write about it.”

Why?

Because a member of the royal family is directly involved.

To date, we have not received updates from Al Fajer Group regarding the allegations made against the company.

 
Rather than view Sheikh Maktoum bin Hasher Al Maktoum as a businessman who may have been involved in conning investors out of GBP86 million, the government views him as a royal first, a businessman second.
 
And herein lies one of the media law’s biggest problems: most UAE royals hold government offices and executive positions in companies throughout the Emirates. In fact, most UAE-based companies have some connection, either directly or remotely, to members of the royal family.
 
 How, then, can the media ever hold these individuals accountable for their actions, if stories (albeit negative ones) cannot be published if they involve a royal?
 
Sadly, the draft media law won’t help with this conundrum, and it certainly won’t help with future torture tape cases either. Article 32, which makes criticizing government officials and royals illegal, is artfully ambiguous. According to HWR’s report, “[such] a vague law invites self-serving interpretation by the government, and with courts that have proven compliant in harshly regulating speech, the result will be continued anxiety, self- censorship, and arbitrary enforcement of the law in the UAE. It appears designed to insulate the government from public accountability and criticism and would deter investigative journalism and undermine the media’s role as public watchdog.”
 
According to Samer Muscati, the HWR is putting together a new report, because “the situation is more dire than we anticipated.”
 
It is dire, especially given that in spite of local restrictions on content, the world press can write and say what they want about the UAE, without ever succumbing to the country’s media laws. And the stories the government doesn’t want the local media to publicize, are being publicized anyway by journalists around the world.
 
Due to the Internet, the only way to prevent the press from airing your dirty laundry in public is by not having any dirty laundry in the first place.
 
Interestingly, the draft law is still pending approval. One has to wonder why a country that passes laws so quickly compared to other nations has taken its time with this one.
 
“I’m hoping that the reason why they haven’t signed the law is because they’re going to amend it,” said Muscati. “They need to reevaluate the law and take the recommendations that we’ve given them.”
 It is unclear why the draft law hasn’t been passed. Repeated efforts to contact the NMC for an explanation yielded little more than assurances that the government is working on finalizing the law.
 However, transparency was never one of the UAE’s strong points, which is ironic given its desire to maintain its status as a regional business hub. Without transparency, and without press freedom to report on political, business-related and social issues, the UAE is unlikely to repair its mired reputation.
 
Since the financial crisis hit the region in September 2008, bringing the nation’s billion dollar real estate industry to its wobbly knees, the UAE’s credibility as a stable and profitable developing nation was compromised. Dubai, more so than Abu Dhabi, had over stretched its budget. To date, no one knows how much debt the emirate raked up, but occasional disclosures hint at a distressed economy. Earlier this year, Dubai admitted to owing $80 billion, although analysts suspect the number is higher. Clearly, without the government providing accurate numbers, speculators will assume the worst.
 
Given Dubai’s drive to raise itself from the economic bog it created running up to the financial crisis, honesty and transparency are tantamount. And without the media’s involvement in reporting information about Dubai and the UAE’s news, any effort to regain investor confidence is slim.
 
In fact, keeping close tabs on the media, like it does with its companies, will only prove that in spite of the lessons the financial crisis has taught the business world, the UAE hasn’t grasped them yet.

read the full article here

Dubai`s off-plan buyers cash at high risk – Delayed Projects axed

source  MaktoobBusiness

DUBAI – Many real estate projects claimed to be on hold due to the collapse of the UAE’s property market have actually been cancelled, but developers do not want to admit this because then they will have to return investors’ money, industry observers say.

Observers also question some developers’ ability to repay investors when projects are finally cancelled, with the prospect of buyers losing millions of dollars.

“In the 18 months before the downturn a number of projects were announced that were not financially viable and therefore unlikely to see completion,” said Tahir Akhtar, chairman of Dubai Business Advisors, who has invested in projects across the UAE.

“Developers do not want to admit this because then they will have to return the funds.”

Billions of dollars worth of developments were launched during the UAE’s real estate boom, which had seen property prices close to double by mid-2008 from the start of 2007.

The boom was driven by speculation and easy credit, with developers funding the construction of projects through off-plan sales.

When the global financial crisis gripped the country’s real estate market prices plummeted as financing and demand dried up, leaving developers unable to fund construction.

UNDER REVIEW

Many developers have put projects on hold or have said they are reviewing projects, but few have come out and outright cancelled projects.

“If they (developers) say it’s cancelled they will have to repay the money to clients. Probably for that reason they are saying it is still on hold,” said Charles Neil, CEO of property consulting firm Landmark Advisory.

Michael Shvo, a well-known luxury real estate marketer from New York, said a developer told him privately a project that is “officially” delayed is actually cancelled, declining to name the developer.
 
“A developer told me that officially the project is on hold, but it is actually cancelled,” Shvo told a conference at Cityscape Dubai earlier this month, prompting him to call for greater transparency.

The number of real estate projects cancelled or on hold stood at around $408 billion in September, up 18 percent from $346 billion in April, according to the Kuwait Financial Centre.

The Centre, also known as Markaz, said it expects cancellations to rise further in Dubai due to the continued lack of financing and uncertain economic outlook.

UAE real estate regulations vary from emirate to emirate, but currently there are no laws governing how long a project can be on hold before a developer must refund investors’ money.

In Dubai, the UAE’s most developed real estate market, authorities are in the process assessing which projects are unviable and should be cancelled, with the findings due out before the end of the year, according to the Real Estate Regulatory Agency (RERA)

Developers are not allowed to cancel projects in Dubai without the approval of RERA and the Dubai Land Department, RERA said, adding that if a developer does get approval to cancel a project it would have to reimburse investors. 

“It will vary from project to project as which ones will go ahead. Some will end up with half-completed buildings and some may not start (at all),” Landmark’s Neil said.

INVESTOR CONCERN

Investors have become increasingly vocal in voicing their concerns about delayed projects, calling on developers to transfer their investment to another project or refund their money.

Larger companies such as Emaar Properties and Nakheel have set up schemes that allow buyers to swap their investments between projects, but smaller developers lack the project portfolio to offer an alternative, analysts say, leaving investors at risk of losing their money.

Dubai Business Advisors’ Akhtar said a group of investors he belonged to stood to lose around 150 million dirhams ($40.8 million) from projects in the UAE emirate of Ajman that now look like they may not go ahead.

“Not a lot has been done to protect investors,” he said.

Dubai brought an escrow account law into force in mid-2007 in an effort to better protect investors – requiring developers to hold buyers’ money in a special bank account until the completion of a project – but many projects had been launched prior to the law, and other emirates were even later in introducing similar regulations.

“Most projects that fall under the escrow provisions of RERA have an established level of comfort and protection. Those projects that are not covered by escrow are a different situation,” said Blair Hagkull, regional managing director of Jones Lang LaSalle.

Test Case for RERA Dubai – Investors file case with RERA over Dubai project delays

source ArabianBusiness
 A group of around 30 investors has filed an official complaint at the Real Estate Regulatory Agency (Rera) over ongoing delays and specification changes at the Vue de Lac and Vista del Lago developments in Dubai.

Investors on the Al Attar project at Jumeirah Lake Towers accused the developer of unreasonable delays and changes being made to apartments without the consent of owners, Construction Week Online reported.

“We have been promised the project since then end of 2007. It was then pushed to 2008, then the end of 2008, and now he’s saying 2011 – which will never happen, because up to date they’ve only finished the piling,” investor Makram Mohamed told the website.

Many asserted that apartment specifications have changed so drastically that they no longer wish to purchase property in the project and want a full refund.

Investors are unhappy at what was described in a letter from Al Attar as “some small changes”, where two-bedroom apartments have been changed to one-bedroom ones.

Al Attar had revised the prices of the apartments in line with the reduction in apartment size, but investors said that they had bought two-bedroom apartments specifically and a smaller alternative was not acceptable.

“Because of the change of designation and all of this delay, we don’t want this property any more. The majority of people investing were buying to live in this property. Ninety per cent of our group wanted to live in this. Now they’ve changed the designation, we don’t need it. I bought a two-bedroom; you can’t give me a one-bed plus study,” said investor Shailendra Sainani.

“The majority of us need our money refunded and the costs absorbed. [Al Attar] needs to resell the project from the beginning.”

In addition to changes in designation, many investors are also concerned that delays to the project will result in a huge interest bill arising from finance agreements that can only be concluded following apartment handover.

Some investors took out finance agreements in 2006 under the impression that the project would be handed over in 2008. They are now facing the prospect of paying five years’ worth of interest on finance agreements, should the project be delivered according to a new completion date of 2011.

Some investors also query Al Attar’s ability to deliver the project on time.

“Can we still believe Al Attar can deliver in 2011, if they couldn’t even start construction in the last three years?” said one investor.

The group has filed a case with Rera because they say that Al Attar Properties is refusing to communicate with them except through a lawyer.

No-one from Al Attar was able to comment on the case or development.

The case has now been filed with Rera, who said a decision on the steps it would take would be forthcoming in the next few days.

UAE collect DNA from all Residents – DNA database set to start in a year

source The National

The UAE aims to start collecting genetic samples from residents within 12 months as part of its controversial DNA database project, the programme’s director said yesterday, making it the first country in the world to do so.

Dr Ahmed al Marzooqi, the director of the National DNA Database, also said the order for millions of people to allow lab technicians to collect samples of their DNA by swabbing their cheeks would probably be given as a security directive and not require the passage of new legislation.

“The first step is to set up the infrastructure and hire the lab technicians,” he said in an interview with The National.

“This should take us approximately one year.”

Then, he said, the UAE would start collecting DNA samples from the general public, beginning with juveniles.

“The aim is to eventually have a profile of the entire population,” said Dr Marzooqi, who is also the chairman of the DNA Working Group, made up of various police forces across the Emirates.

“Our goal is to sample one million per year, which could take as long as 10 years if you factor in the population growth.”

Some officials have suggested that the DNA programme may require new legislation, which would then need to be considered by the Federal National Council.

But Dr al Marzooqi said this might not be the case.

“We are not sure if this will go through the Federal National Council or not,” he said. “It could simply be decided as a security matter and not need the legislation of the FNC.”

The legislative route seems increasingly remote given that a new government department, the National DNA Database, has already been formed within the Ministry of Interior and collection kits ordered to help the police gather genetic material.

At present, only 5,000 DNA profiles are stored, all of convicted felons.

The notion of collecting DNA samples from non-criminals has raised ethical concerns about privacy protection.

In Britain, for example, such use of DNA was contested last year in the European Court of Human Rights, which ruled that Britain must purge non-criminal genetic material from its database.

The UAE has not accepted the jurisdiction of any such body.

Even attempting such a database – in which DNA is gathered from the entire population, even those who have never gone through the legal system – is basically unheard of, said Sir Alec Jeffreys, the British genetics pioneer who invented the DNA profiling system.

He expressed concern over the lack of legislation required for a national database.

“It will be interesting to see how this develops,” he said.

“How this works out will really set the scene for how other countries approach this problem. If it’s seen as a great success which the population and citizenry fully endorse, I think it will open the way for a lot of other countries going down this route.

“If it turns into a disaster for whatever reason, that will be the end of the story. You are the interesting experiment at this point.”

Dr al Marzooqi, who is also Interpol’s single Middle Eastern representative in its DNA Monitoring Expert Group, said he was aware of the project’s challenges.

“We are certain the pros will outweigh the cons,” he said. “The issue of privacy is just as important for us as it is important for the public. We will implement strict usage rules and will take secondary tests in court cases to verify the identity matches.”

Other nations could use information from the UAE’s data bank, but not access the material, he said. Treaties and other international agreements would dictate the specifics.

“If there is co-operation with the country seeking the DNA profile, we share this information through Interpol – only the DNA profile, and obviously not the sample,” he said.

Because each country may have its own database of DNA profiles, Dr al Marzooqi said, databases would not be merged with those of any other country.

“Not every country who asks will be given this information,” he said.

The database, he added, would be “instrumental in helping with unsolved crimes, identifying unknown bodies and will also be a great help in major disasters, either man-made or natural”.

How safe are your Mobile calls ?

A company called Secusmart has developed an advanced encryption and authentication system to provide secure cellphone communication.

According to André Stürmer, operations director of the TriVest Group, South African distributors of the German developed Secusmart chip: “The hard fact about cellphone security is that you should always assume you have unwanted listeners. In countries where more and more business is conducted over the mobile phone network, such as is the case in Africa, this is particularly relevant.”

GSM-based communications can be attacked in three different ways:

1. An attack on the transmission network.

2. An attack on the air interface.

3. An attack by ID spoofing.

During an attack on the transmission network, the speech data is transferred clearly, and can be intercepted through legal as well as illegal measures. Air interfaces can be actively and passively attacked. An active attack on the air interface is performed by an IMSI catcher. The IMSI catcher makes use of the lack of authentication between the network and the mobile phone and intercepts the data by placing the phone on its ‘private’ network. Additionally, the IMSI catcher disconnects the normal GSM encryption. Not only does the cost of around R2 million limit its use, but it is also difficult to deploy and the active interception means that the use of the IMSI catcher can be traced.

A passive attack of the air interface requires cracking the A5/1 encryption. The two possibilities are:

1. GSS ProA – GSM interceptor

* On-the-fly decryption of up to 100 speech connections.

* Simultaneous interception and content analysis.

* Cost is approximately R750 000.

2. Open-source projects

GSM cracking project/A5 busters

The threat by this type of attack is high, as the interception cannot be traced and the entry barrier is low.

The cheapest alternative is to duplicate the caller ID – this is known as ID spoofing. Sites such as www.spoofcard.com show how easy and cheap this type of attack can be. The invader communicates the false call number and the victim trusts the number, resulting in them divulging confidential information. This threat by caller ID spoofing is extremely high because it is possible with any telephone.

These points illustrate that secure mobile communication requires more than just encryption. For this reason, Secusmart’s solution ensures encryption and authentication. Certificate authentication protects against caller ID spoofing thanks to the public key infrastructure (PKI). The Secusmart solution is independent of the mobile phone and it requires no changes to the device. The usage is simple, does not impede normal phone usage, no loss of battery time and intuitive handling, with no degradation in speech quality.

The solution makes use of crypto hardware integrated in a microSD card, which encrypts voice calls end-to-end using a 128-bit AES encryption algorithm. Authentication is certificate-based, using an elliptic curve Diffie-Hellmann key exchange and with a key agreement within 3 seconds. The microSD card is a standard chip for mobile data storage with up to 2 GB Flash storage. Additionally, it contains a secure PKI smartcard controller (NXP SmartMX P5CC072) with TCOS 4.0 operating system. The design has a high-speed AES co-processor which consumes little battery power and securely stores key.
More details-  information . Secusmart

Another ineresting Advice: original source Surveillance Self-Defence EFF

Critical test of Dubai’s credit worthiness – Dubai `s 80 Billion Dollar debt pile

original source online WallStreetJournal by Maria Abi-Habib and Stefania Bianchi

Dubai will crank up efforts this week to tackle its $80 billion debt pile with senior officials heading to Asia to meet potential investors amid reports that one of its most indebted companies has repaid a $1.2 billion bond ahead of schedule.

Top officials from Dubai’s Department of Finance will meet fixed income and Islamic investors in Hong Kong, Singapore, London, Dubai and Frankfurt starting Thursday ahead of possibly selling more debt this year, according an invitation sent to bankers and seen by Zawya Dow Jones Monday.

An external spokesman for the department said the roadshows are part of “ongoing investor communication” but bankers suspect the meetings could be an early sign that Dubai may be preparing to issue the second half of its $20 billion bond program launched in February to support its economy and embattled companies.

“This will be the first time investors hear the Dubai story from officials post-crisis,” Abdul Kadir Hussain, chief executive of Mashreq Capital told Zawya Dow Jones. “How this story is received will determine how successful Dubai will be over the next three to five years.”

At the height of the global financial crisis, the Abu Dhabi-based central bank of the United Arab Emirates supported Dubai by underwriting the first half of its planned $20 billion bond program to bail out the sheikdom’s struggling companies and economy.

Recently, Dubai officials including Omar bin Sulaiman, the head of the Dubai International Financial Center, have said they expect strong interest from private investors for the eagerly awaited second $10 billion bond.

Mohamed Alabbar, who helps oversee a committee evaluating the impact of the global credit crisis on Dubai, told CNN earlier this month that the emirate may raise the additional $10 billion by November.

The investor meetings due to start in Hong Kong on Oct. 22 are the latest sign that Dubai and its government-owned companies are trying to dig themselves out of an estimated $80 billion debt pile, most of which was incurred during the emirate’s property, tourism and logistics boom.

According to Standard & Poors, Dubai has almost $5 billion worth of debt maturing between September and the end of the year. The biggest share of this debt is held by Nakheel, a unit of government-owned Dubai World. The company has a $3.5 billion Islamic bond maturing December. The bond, which will be pumped into Dubai’s Financial Support Fund, is seen as a critical test of Dubai’s credit worthiness.

“The Financial Support Fund is in need of further resources to fulfill its mandate of supporting Dubai’s government related entities, many of which face heavy debt repayments in the coming three years,” said Farouk Soussa, head of Middle East government ratings at S&P.

PAYING DEBTS

A report Monday in Middle East Economic Digest said Nakheel had repaid a 4.4 billion U.A.E. dirham ($1.2 billion) securitized bond issued in January, one month ahead of the scheduled repayment deadline of Nov. 15.
The repayment made on Oct. 15 will come as a comfort to many investors in Nakheel, and especially those concerned about Nakheel’s December sukuk. A Nakheel spokesperson declined to comment when contacted by Zawya Dow Jones Monday.
Nakheel’s bond repayment came on the same day that government-owned conglomerate Dubai World announced that it completed a major restructuring.

The move will help the firm save $800 million over the next three years and ease a small part of the near $60 billion of liabilities on its books. The term liability refers to a company’s legal debts or obligations arising from its business operations.

Earlier this month, Dubai Holding, a conglomerate controlled by the emirate’s ruler, paid back in full a $300 million loan belonging to its Sama property unit. There are also signs that Dubai is repaying some of its outstanding bills to construction contractors.

On Monday, U.K. Trade Minister Mervyn Davies said that debts owed to British contractors in Dubai have reduced, but payments remain outstanding.

“I think it has improved, but it’s been a sensitive issue, and it is important that Dubai companies pay their debts,” he said.

The U.K.-based Association for Consultancy and Engineering, which represents about 800 British construction firms, said in May it was tracking approximately GBP400 million in unpaid fees for building in the emirate.

(Natasha Brereton in London contributed to this story.)

Hydra Properties to appeal against buyers court victory

source Zawya
Hydra Properties says it will appeal against a court decision in favour of two property buyers in its troubled Hydra Village development.

The case, brought by two European women, was recently heard through the Court of Appeal in Abu Dhabi, a source close to the couple said.

If Hydra loses the appeal, the investors will be refunded the money they have so far paid to the project.

“In principle, they have won the case, and through the legal system they should have the money released to them,” said the source.

Between 10 and 20 more cases by investors were under way against Hydrawhile a further 150 claimants were seeking legal advice, the source said. The cases are being handled by MIO Lawyers and Legal Consultants, based in Abu Dhabi.

Ali bin Sulayem, the chief executive of Hydra Properties, said the company would appeal against the decision and it was still open to negotiating with investors out of court.

“I think that anyone, when there is a dispute, has the right to file cases,” he said. “This is our right to appeal, we have to use it. But I am sure the door of negotiation is still open. It does not mean that if a case is filed against our company that we cannot still find a way of settling this matter.”

The legal action is the consequence of a long-running battle between the investors and Hydra over contract changes, price rises on previously sold properties and demands to make payments for homes that are significantly delayed.

Talk of taking the firm to court started in June, when the Hydra Litigation Group was formed among members of the Hydra Investors Group. About 150 out of 350 people joined the litigation group, with about 50 per cent now pursuing the legal route, said Karl Howard, the co-chairman of the group.

Many of the investors had hoped to settle their contract issues – which included price hikes for property size increases due to an overhaul of the project’s masterplan – amicably with the firm.

But the final straw for most came recently when they received a letter, seen by The National, from Hydras legal department saying their units would be cancelled and all money kept if they failed to sign the new version of the contract by October 15.

“I don’t think you can threaten people to sign a contract that’s not acceptable,” said Graeme Perry, the deputy chairman of the Hydra Investors Group. “It’s got to the stage where people are saying ‘no’ and are lodging court cases.”

One investor, who has started legal proceedings and is hoping to recoup Dh450,000 (US$122,515), said: “We were trying to negotiate with HydraHydraLoading…, but then it got to the point when we realised there was no hope.”

Another investor, who has also started legal proceedings, said: “I’ve had enough now, it’s deeply frustrating. I’ve paid Dh400,000 and am not paying any more … I’m interested in getting out of this and getting my money back.”

More investors are expected to pursue legal action. “We do want to go ahead with it [legal action] as we don’t just want to sit back,” said Matt O’Hara, who has so far paid Dh250,000 towards a villa at Hydra Village.

“But we’re just weighing things up at the moment.”

A lawyer representing the investors at MIO declined to comment.

In June, Hydra tried to appease Hydra Village investors by giving those who had paid 50 per cent or more a payment break until the middle of next year, while penalties for late payment for those who had invested less were waived.

The company, which is owned by The Royal Group and at the time was headed up by Sulaiman al Fahim, the new owner of Portsmouth Football Club in England, also assured investors their homes would be built. The project was supposed to be delivered this year, but is now unlikely to be finished until 2011.

Hydrais one of dozens of developers that sold off-plan property to a market dominated by speculators during the boom, and which is now struggling to get buyers to keep up their payments. The situation has led to a rise in property disputes in Dubai, with Hydras being the first major dispute of its kind in Abu Dhabi.

According to Saud Masud, the head of research and senior analyst of real estate at UBS bank, many buyers did not question the fundamentals of their investments. Hydra Village was sold to investors with promises of a five-star hotel, swimming pools, fountains and significant green areas. But none of these features exist in the revised masterplan.

“In general, if you look at the amount of investment that flowed two years ago, you can’t really argue the case that they were sound investments,” Mr Masud said.

“It was about speculation. Investors didn’t really question the fundamentals of the company, the portfolio, timelines or finances. We all knew this was a pay-as-you-go model.”

Mr Masud said projects were being delayed before the fallout from the economic downturn. “The writing was already on the wall, even in 2006. Handovers were delayed significantly.”

By Angela Giuffrida and Nathalie Gillet
The National 2009

Womand found dead at the 10th floor of Jumeirah Essex House Hotel New York

source Thaindian News
New York, Sep 20 (THAINDIAN NEWS)

According to sources, a naked body of a 44 year old woman with her throat reportedly slashed and a knife sticking out of it was found at the 10th floor of the Jumeirah Essex House hotel. According to the police, a maid found the body of the brutally slashed woman’s body lying on the floor.

The police said that the woman was repeatedly stabbed by a bread knife which was still sticking out of her throat when the body was discovered. Sources reveal that a rope had been found draped around her neck, although thepolice believe that the rope didn’t play any role in the murder of the woman (according to the Police Department’s spokesman Paul J. Browne).

According to the sources, the woman who has been identified as Andree (Sara) Bejjani, did not show any initial signs of sexual assault as further investigations would reveal the actual cause of the murder. When asked about the motive that led to the heinous murder, Browne said, “We don’t have a theory yet.” Investigators are questioning the hotel employees and staffs in order to learn that whether any employee had an access to the apartment or not. It is still not clear about when the murder took place and for how long the woman had been dead.

“Our heartfelt condolences go out to the victim’s family. Jumeirah Essex House management has been working closely with the police,” said Jenny Glover, a spokeswoman for the hotel. According to the sources, on Saturday night a little girl who seemed to be in the care of security guards was reportedly found crying on the 10th floor.

VIP Dubai – From the Archive – Rapid Change, Emphasis on Business Overshadow Concerns on Rights

original source Washington Post May 2007

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Mohammed al-Roken is perhaps the most prominent human rights activist in Dubai. That distinction has cost him. He was arrested twice. The government forced him out of his job as a professor, canceled his public lectures and banned him from writing in newspapers. Nine months ago, his passport was seized, barring him from traveling abroad.

That’s not the tough part, the lawyer said. Far more difficult is the loneliness that comes with political work in a brashly exuberant city-state that prides itself on having no politics. “An activist might be praised, might be congratulated for his work, might be clandestinely supported, but there will be no uproar if something happens to him,” Roken said.

Roken, a tall, bearded Emirati whose few softly spoken words belie a steely determination, is trying to create a political movement in the world’s biggest boomtown where virtually everything — from the import of cheap, often mistreated labor to the prevalence of English — is dictated by the logic of capital. Yet on the margins of Dubai’s culture of superlatives, with double-digit growth the norm and unbridled optimism a mantra, politics are timidly, fitfully but gradually coalescing in a place where notions of borders, citizenship and rights have become murkier.

“This is an apolitical city, but it will probably not stay that way for too long,” said Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, a professor of political science at Emirates University. He added: “Politics brings out the good and the bad.”

In a region beset by war and crises, Dubai sits like an oasis of confidence along the turquoise waters of the Persian Gulf. If Cairo was the Arab world’s ideological capital in the 1950s and ’60s, and Beirut its cultural capital until the Lebanese civil war erupted in 1975, then Dubai is now its economic capital, drawing legions of the Arab world’s best and brightest from the malaise of their own countries. It has posted growth higher than China and India, with per capita income greater than Singapore. It has reaped the windfall of the region’s oil wealth, despite having scant reserves of its own. Its leaders, a modernized tribal dynasty, style themselves as corporate executives running Dubai Inc

“This is the nature of things here, the nature of the beast. Dubai has a focus. Unlike all other cities, it has a focus and it’s clear, perhaps clearer than it’s ever been: economics, stay the course, our business is business, our business is growth,” Abdulla said.

But with that growth have come pressing issues that no other Arab locale has had to confront so quickly. Its own citizens have become a tiny minority in a city where English, not Arabic, is the lingua franca. In the heart of one of the world’s most socially conservative regions, prostitution and alcohol are rife.

Tens of thousands of newcomers arrive in the city each month, joining hundreds of thousands of migrant workers, many of whom toil with few rights and at little more than subsistence wages. Their cause has become one rallying point.

‘No Civil Society Here’

“Get out of the house,” Sharla Musabih, a 46-year-old activist, pleaded into her cellphone on a recent day. On the other end was a Filipina married to an abusive Egyptian man, Musabih said. “Go to the hospital, then come to me.”

“This is every day,” Musabih said after hanging up the phone. “Every day.”

In a city of spectacles, Musabih stands out, an occasionally lonely activist trying to forge protections and safeguards for migrants. Born in Bainbridge Island, Wash., she has lived here for 24 years with her Emirati husband and six children. She has an exuberant touch: Her hands are in perpetual motion, and the woman on the other end of the phone is “Sweetie.” “Excuse me, honey,” she beckons to a waitress, grabbing her hand in both of hers. “I’m dying for a latte.”

Her first case as an activist was an incident of domestic violence she followed in 1991. Since then, she has taken on more of those cases, as well as of children working as camel jockeys, domestic servants mistreated by their employers and women forced into prostitution.

In 2001, she set up Dubai’s only shelter, the City of Hope, a two-story villa where two dozen women are staying. As part of her work, she said she has had to run a gantlet of harassment from lower-level police to angry husbands. A criminal case was filed against her — politically motivated, in her view — and she counts death threats among her workplace hazards. Years later, she still awaits recognition from the government that would bestow legitimacy in her endless tussles with the legal system.

“You run around like the Tasmanian devil and try to have a very big smile,” Musabih said, her face framed in a brown veil.

But she added, with a slight edge to her voice, “I’m not an outsider pointing a finger. I’m an insider.”

The challenges are many: She is one of the very few activists not only in Dubai, but also in the six other sheikdoms that make up the United Arab Emirates. In Dubai, the vast influx of migrant workers is testing a court system never equipped for a city with more than 170 nationalities; workers complain about unpaid salaries, dangerous conditions and an ever-present threat to deport them if they protest. One especially intricate case Musabih has taken: a Pakistani woman entangled in a custody fight who faced everything from a travel ban to a passport stolen by a vindictive husband.

“They’re new at this,” she said of the government. “There’s a good intention, but a lack of experience.”

Her assistant, Seher Mir, 27, was blunter. “There’s absolutely no civil society here. There are no [nongovernmental organizations] here, people don’t understand what human rights are. Human rights, women’s rights, when you mention it to people, they say it’s not my problem.”

City in Transition

In recent years, Dubai has attracted attention for its ambition. It has built or is building the tallest skyscraper, the largest shopping mall and the biggest artificial island. “Once again history is created,” reads a billboard promoting the Dubai World Trade Center. There is little that might be called traditionally Arab in its commercialized ambience or cityscape of manicured roundabouts and 14-lane avenues lined with mimosa trees and purple periwinkles, save the street names: Sheikh Zayed Road, or Khalid Bin Walid Street.

Divisions lurk in the background: between expatriates, for instance, and Emiratis, and between Emiratis who trace their origins to the Arabian Peninsula or Iran. But Dubai lacks the poverty of Egypt, the sectarianism of Iraq or Lebanon or the divisions of Jordan, a country still unreconciled with its Palestinian majority. Dubai feels transient, enticing many of its residents with the promise of money or a climate more socially liberal than in neighboring countries.

“Things are not deeply or well established because of the mood of transition. People come and make money and go,” said Suleiman Hattlan, editor in chief of Forbes Arabia in Dubai. “They are interested in either the sun or business.”

Added Yassar Jarrar, executive dean of the Dubai School of Government: “You would struggle to start a political movement here.”

But that sense of depoliticized space conceals a simmering backlash in Dubai among Emiratis who are a tiny minority in their own city and who are often bewildered by the pace of change in a country that, within some of their lifetimes, once relied on pearl diving and fishing. Like Musabih, who tries to instill a legal culture of human rights in an unaccustomed court system, some Emirati activists such as Roken are trying to understand how to safeguard their identities from the encroachment of a globalized culture.

Abdullah, the political scientist, described it as a mix of pride in what Dubai represents and fear at the costs it entails.

“There is hardly anybody in the city who doesn’t feel a bit of fear inside him, a fear of losing it all at a time when we have it all,” he said. “Do you call it alienation? It’s much beyond that. We live in the best of times and, in some ways, the worst of times.”

For Roken, the challenge of alienation is an unusual one. He wants to embolden citizens — a distinct minority — to raise their voices against an authoritarian government he says caters to expatriates, the majority. The government provides Emiratis with generous housing loans, pays for schooling and ensures free health care. But Roken is more unsettled by the intangibles: entering a mall where virtually everyone is a foreigner, beaches populated by swimmers in dress he considers immodest, and wine-tasting parties at luxury hotels. Only a more democratic polity, albeit entrusted to a minority, can stanch what he sees as Dubai’s more flagrant excesses.

“The majority sets the rules of the game,” the 44-year-old lawyer said. “If we keep ourselves passive, the identity, the culture will fade away very quickly. Activism is a way of protecting our identity and our culture, in a positive way.”

“A one-voice society has been tried in other countries and failed,” he said. “We shouldn’t repeat other people’s failures.”

As a way of adding voices, Roken has pushed for a more aggressive role by professional unions, often the arena of activism in the Arab world. But he said the government has imposed restrictions on their work. The government has canceled activities, including his own talks; security forces, he said, sometimes vet the names of participants in conferences abroad.

“The space for freedom has become smaller and smaller,” said Mohammed al-Mansoori, who heads the Jurists Association.

Like Roken and others, Mansoori laments the loss of what he says was an intimacy with the ruling families a generation ago. Since the 1980s, he said, the clans that run the Emirates have increasingly assumed the trappings of power, distancing themselves from those they govern. As the traditional society fades, Mansoori has pushed for a more modern alternative: an independent judiciary, human rights and labor laws consistent with international standards and freer elections.

Among his pursuits: ways to protect the country’s identity.

“Nobody wants to listen,” he said.

Mansoori, 49, fled to London last July after a disagreement with a government official he says was politically motivated. It followed several official warnings, he said, to stop speaking to foreign media about topics from Musabih’s shelter to wildcat strikes to the rights of children of Emirati mothers. He plans to return, with a British lawyer, in coming weeks.

“It’s normal to be nervous,” he said. “But I’ve prepared myself to face anything.”

He paused on the phone for a moment, with a hint of unease. “We’ll see.”

Al Fajer Properties and Fraudulent announcements from a Blogger against our partner Blog Dubai7stars

Important announcement of our partner Blog Dubai7stars.blogspot.com

Friday, August 21, 2009

Update : Fraudulent announcements from The Pirates and Spyer Dubai9Stars

The Blogger Dubai9Stars.blogspot.com copied our Blog layout 1:1 to simulate a mirrow Blog ( we reported about this)

Now the Blogger Dubai9stars published again false and now also fraudulent defame informations about dubai7stars.blogspot.com

It seems Dubai9Stars has a real big problem with a special still pending court case in Dubai. This Case Al Fajer Proeprties seems to be the reason for Dubai9Stars to target us in this way.
The Fantasy and now shown Agression of Dubai9Stars against Dubai7Stars is worth to show our readers.

As we assumed, we get now the confirmation by they last actions of Dubai9Starst, that this Blog dubai9stars.blogsspot.com seems to have a special mission – to target and mislead Dubai7stars and also other individuals.
( click to enlarge the piture)

Meanwhile we take it easy, the official legal investigation from our side is still going on and this will be the last public response to the slander campaign of Dubai9stars.

We have to post the Response here, because Dubai9stars is not reachable over the own comment section. They post to our comment section yesterday under anonymous – so no way to respond to them by this way. They are the ones who are operating under the cover ” Anonymus”

Our Message to Dubai9Stars

So, Dubai9stars , with your threat today it seems you have any problems with the press releases about the case Al Fajer Properties and the case of Dr. Shahram Zadeh who filed a civil lawsiut against Maktoum Hasher Maktoum Al Maktoum and Al Fajer Properties. The Story of Mr. Zadeh was first published in the Wall Street Journal .

And by this,problem you have you created now a mirrow Blog of our Blog Dubai7Stars …to do what with this ????????????

Your outing of today shows us that you focus extremely in this direction.

Are you also hunting and investigate journalists from the internatinal press who reproted about the scandal Al Fajer Properties and the CEO Shahram Zadeh and the Media Blockout for Journalist and more in this case Al Fajer Properties – Dynasty Zarooni – Jumeirah Business Centre Scandal in Dubai ?

Are you vasalls of this special network who defarm individuals, by simulating other Blogs and providing Forums like Skyscrapercity with fraudulenent informations ?

We do not know what`s going on in your brain and what kind of illustar combinatoric you produce .

Dubai7stars is INDEPENDENT

Which Blogs Dr. Shahram Zadeh registered, is out of our acknowledge. And if so, it`s his good right to do so.

dubai7stars or 7starsdubai ( in cooperation with us) are registered since 2005 – until today they havent been purchased from whom ever.

Both domains are existing since 2005 – the owner of dubai7stars and 7starsdubai has not purchased them to Dr. Zaddeh.

We Dubai7Stars have also no editor or sponsor whos name is Dr. Shahram Zadeh nor we are the ghostwriters for Dr. Shahram Zadeh or any other person in relation to Dr. Shahram Zadeh.

Our Blog Dubai7stars contents 99% various press releases from the international press only and 1 % comments. That`s it.
To this we show a wide range from the local UAE Press over our widgets , so every reader of our Blog has the full spectrum to the Press in UAE.

What we see by your threat of today is, that you Dubai9Stars seems to have extreme interest to defam Dr. Shahram Zadeh and us. To mirrow our Blog Layout , to misuse the copyright of the picture in the header, to post under ” sheikha” and to tell others that we have copied you, this is something like Kids do. But now you have shifted in the criminal corner.

You dubai9stars ride yourself deeper and deeper in legal problems whith threads like this and the really poor action of your 1:1 layout copy of our Blog dubai7stars. Now you have expressed yourself and it needs not a lot of fantasy what is staying behind this acts.

We are also amused that you dubai9stars are since 24 hours brand new appear on Twitter with the same campaign, by using our copyright picture also here as backgraund and copy our following list 1:1. Here on Twitter with dubai9stars you opereate under the pseudonym Stefan Haswell, just having 1 Tweet.

(click to enlarge the picture)

You mirrow yourself, now under the pseudonym Lars Barton by using 9starsdubai. The Crux of your following list, you follow yourself. what kind of simulation is this ?

We see by your additional Twitter accounts that you extremly love our picture from the Burj Al Arab. You can purchase it from us for 5000 US or you should just take a sunbed at Bab Al Yam and get in the right position to take the exact same shot. Your sponsor will make it possible for you, he is at home there.

The relevant persons (who know us since years) – have been already informed about this super idea of you dubai9stars – just to give them an impression who you are and about the ” who ” we assume is standing behind your acts. The feedback we got is amazing.

You also link your readers to to Skyscrapercity. It`S amazing to see, that also here you create a brand new user name “TomJones69″ and post the misleading false informations under this name.
Has TomJones found you or did you find him ? Why operating so brand new under TomJones69 since yesterday with only 2 Posts ?

(click to enlarge the picture)

By linking to Skyscrapercity you forget to mention what you also whish to spy out further persons over this forum , this with the help of users from skyscrapercity who colaborate with you.
A Screenshot of your activity from at Skyscrapercity is already taken. ( see pic beside)

It is interetsing to see how strong you focus to defam Dr. Sharam Zadeh, how deep is your interest to hunt persons who are sharing free opinions and how extreme you wish to protect and promote Al Fajer Properties and his President Maktoum Hasher Maktoum.

As you know, we have already forwarded your acts of the event that you mirrowed our Blog for further legal investigation . You will have the problem with the regristration date of your so called ” layout brainchild” dubai9stars and the copyright misuse of the header picture and the already mentioned gadget. To simulate with false journal dates, that your Blog is longer existing , will not help you.

Now you have extent this matter, and we see no other way than to file a criminal complaint against you.

With the defarmation you publish today – you will have another legal problem.

(click to enlarge the picture)

Generally your behavior is like a status from the Kindergarden and you expressed yourself enough with your statement (copied below) – like we assume from the beginning.

The correspondence with you dubai9stars over this way , for us is now at end and will be investigate and monitored over the relevant authorities, like we mention to you earlier.

Dubai 7 stars, August 20. 2009

___________________________
The Full Text
Dubai9Stars wrote in their Blog

Interesting post about our mates at 7starsdubai….
As we were checking out some neat photos at skycrapercity forums, we noticed an intriguing post nestled in at the bottom of page 24 by tomjones69 about our mates at 7starsdubai. Click here to see the post or read the following.

Who is ebony007 and who is 7starsdubai?
For those of you who may be wondering who ebony 007 it is none other than Shahram zadeh aka Dr Shahram aka Dr Zadeh

I’ve been following the story and eventually linked up all the blogs that have been created that eventually led me here. I found out that Ebony 007 is Shahram Abdullah Zadeh. The disgraced CEO that created 4 biliion in liabilities on al fajer and did not build for 4 years.

They fired him as they found out that he was fleecing the company as he was more foucussed on taking commissions than running a property development company. According to Nakheel, he used to work as a broker there before he came and worked for Al Fajer.

To add more spice to the story after a criminal complaint was filled against him he went on the run and filed a frivolous civil suit in the hopes of getting the criminal charges filed against him to be dropped.

He also purchased a blog from a german lady called 7stars dubai. He also registered multiple variants of the same web site and other blogs which he is using as part of an amateur blogging campaign against his former employer.

Everything that Ebony007 said in the blog turned out to be more fantasy than reality. I am Sure Legal Eagle would agree and would be able to connect the dots 2. Enjoy : )

PS – I’ll be trying to dig up some more on the history of this guy so stay tuned.

It sounds like Shahram Abdullah Zadeh may be the puppet master pulling the strings over at 7starsdubai. While we’re not sure if it’s Zadeh, it wouldn’t surprise us all that much. He is the former manager of Al-Fajer Properties, who was removed from his position for stealing money from the company by forging contracts and surreptitiously moving money into his own accounts. Zadeh is suing several members of Dubai’s royal family, alleging they illegally took control of the business. The defendants in the suit have flatly denied the allegations, stating that Zadeh was bilking the company dry. See this Forbes story.

If tomjones69 is in the know, it sounds like Zadeh is projecting his bitterness at the entire industry!
Posted by Sheikha at 12:21 AM 0 comments
Labels: Al-Fajer Properties, Dubai real estate

The Link to the original Blog Dubai 7 Stars : www.dubai7stars.blogsot.com

Snapshot from the original Dubai7stars.blog

Nakheel Dubai Government controlled developer presses buyers for cash

source The National    20. August 2009

Nakheel is asking investors using credit transfers for property purchases to top up their payments with cash, as it seeks to raise funds ahead of a mid-December due date for a Dh3.5 billion (US$953 million) bond.

According to brokers, the Dubai Government-controlled developer allows investors in delayed projects to sell their downpayments to other investors who have already invested in other Nakheel developments.

But now the company is no longer allowing customers to use credit transfers alone to fund instalments, and is demanding that part of the payments are made in cash, brokers say.

“For example, when a buyer has Dh1m to pay, Nakheel would say you need to pay 30 per cent in cash, which makes Dh300,000,” said one broker, Farid Ahmad Hussein.

“They will accept a credit transfer of Dh700,000 from somebody else. The investor can get this Dh700,000 maybe at 40 per cent discount now in the market from another investor. In total he has saved Dh280,000.”

Nakheel needs to pay back a Dh3.5bn bond on December 14, in what is being seen by international lenders and rating agencies as a litmus test of the Dubai Government’s willingness to support its affiliated companies facing financial difficulties.

So called “credit consolidations” were triggered by the collapse in property prices last autumn, which saw scores of developments either cancelled or delayed and effectively ended the “off-plan” property market.

Investors in stalled projects have been able to sell their downpayments, usually at a loss, to other customers of the same developer, and then those downpayments can be used on continuing projects. These credits can only be transferred between buyers that have already made downpayments and are not available on the secondary market.

Developers facilitate the transfer of credit between investors in different projects to generate funds needed to complete some developments, while also making it easier for them to abandon others. External brokers help to match buyers.

Unlike other developers, Nakheel requires the transfer of ownership between investors to be completed before credit is moved between properties.

“Investors in projects that have been deferred have the option of consolidation if they own other properties within the Nakheel portfolio. The advantage to the investor is that Nakheel is able to hand over property to the owner sooner than it might on a deferred project and help investors reduce their financial exposure,” Nakheel said in a statement. The developer declined to comment on whether cash payments were also required to complete property consolidations.

Nakheel has shortened the time it takes to complete such transactions to about a month, from three or four months previously, according to brokers.

Nakheel, the developer of The Palm Dubai, has spent billions of dirhams on projects that are still under construction, while adding further offshore island developments including The World and The Universe.

But development on such a massive scale has come at a high price for the company, which is now struggling to repay debts accumulated during the six-year building boom.

The trade in credit notes on stalled projects is helping revive activity in the property sector, according to Rajesh Sony, a director of Bluechip Real Estate. The firm, he said, generates 90 per cent of its turnover from matching buyers and sellers of credits.

“This is a win-win situation between the developer and investors. If all the investors of one project transfer the money elsewhere, the developer may call off the project without having to refund the money to investors. At the same time, investors can get out of the market without losing all the money, and other investors in ongoing projects can pay their instalments at a cheaper rate,” he said.

The exchange of Nakheel credit, or consolidations, began in February on projects that include the Dh4.4bn Dubai Promenade, and the Dh2.9bn Trump Tower, the centrepiece of Dubai’s original Palm Island development, according to Mohammad Mujtaba Vakil, a broker from Linkage Real Estate.

He said that while cash components were not requested on earlier transfers, Nakheel now “would not accept anything less than 30 per cent”.

Daubi, Nakheel Dubai, Real Estate News Dubai

Escape from Dubai – Washington Post – Herve Jaubert fled last Summer

Escape from Dubai , Hervet Jaubert

source Washington Post

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Herve Jaubert, a French spy who left espionage to make leisure submarines for the wealthy, was riding high.

Bankrolled by Dubai World, a government-owned conglomerate, he built a submarine workshop on the Persian Gulf, lived rent-free in a villa with a pool and tooled around town in a red Lamborghini. He had two Hummers. He vacationed with local plutocrats.

Jaubert said he heard whispers about Dubai’s darker side — the abuse of desperate laborers from impoverished Asian lands, the jailing of the occasional Westerner who crossed a sheik — but “I brushed it all off. I saw glamour. I saw marble columns, mirrors and money.”

Today, the former intelligence operative, who fled Dubai last summer in a rubber dinghy, is a wanted man. In June, a Dubai court convicted him in absentia on charges of embezzling $3.8 million and handed down a five-year sentence, plus a big fine. Jaubert, speaking recently at his new home near West Palm Beach, Fla., said he stole nothing and vowed never to set foot in Dubai again. He said he fled because of gruesome threats by interrogators to stick needles up his nose and what he described as constantly shifting, and all bogus, accusations relating to bullets, murder and the finances of Dubai World’s now-defunct luxury submarine subsidiary.

“If I hadn’t escaped, I’d be in the same hell as everyone else,” said Jaubert, one of scores of expatriate business people in this gleaming city-state who have been accused of crimes — and, in some cases, jailed for long periods without being charged.

Jaubert’s troubles began two years ago when Dubai’s then-booming economy was showing the first faint signs of strain. Local stock and property prices have since swooned, and the tempo of arrests for alleged business misdeeds ranging from a dud check — a criminal offense here — to serious fraud has picked up sharply.

Dubai’s government declined to comment on Jaubert’s allegations of mistreatment. But it has targeted what it sees as dodgy dealmakers and deadbeat debtors, and has declared “no tolerance” of “anybody who makes illegal profits.” For many expatriates, however, the crackdown smacks of a hunt for foreign culprits to blame for the sheikdom’s sliding economic fortunes.

‘It’s All a Bit Scary’

A haven of stability in a region of tumult, Dubai is usually a place people flee to, not from. Foreigners, lured by what President Obama in a June speech in Cairo hailed as the “astonishing progress” of this autocratic but vibrant Persian Gulf metropolis, account for more than 90 percent of the population, and 99 percent of private-sector workers.

But a severe economic slump has reversed the flow. Those who came to Dubai seeking fortunes in property, banking and luxury goodies for the rich now face a less alluring prospect — a prison cell or furtive flight. Only a tiny minority has been picked up by police but, says a longtime foreign resident who runs a company here, “It’s all a bit scary. They are looking for people to carry the can.” The foreign resident, who requested anonymity in order to speak freely, said a British neighbor was picked up last year.

The turbulence is a blow to a place that promoted itself as the Middle East’s answer to Hong Kong or Singapore. It is also a setback for Washington, which has for years touted Dubai as a model of a modern, prosperous Muslim land that, though far from democratic, seemed anchored in the rule of law and committed to basic rights.

Among those who have been locked up are a JPMorgan investment banker; American, British and other foreign property developers; a German yachtmaker; and two Australians who worked as senior executives of what was to be the world’s largest waterfront development. The gigantic project had been launched by Nakheel, the crisis-battered property arm of Dubai World and builder of Dubai’s signature palm-tree-shaped resort islands.

A few have been convicted, mostly for bouncing checks. Those still awaiting trial often waited many months in jail before being charged: The two Australians, for instance, were arrested in January, held in solitary confinement for seven weeks and then finally charged, with fraud-related offences, last month, said their Melbourne lawyer, Martin Amad.

A banker who headed JPMorgan’s Dubai office and its Islamic banking business was first jailed in June last year but was charged, also in connection with fraud, only this spring. JPMorgan said the alleged crimes do not relate to his work at the bank, which he joined in 2007 and quit in April this year while in detention.

Some have complained through lawyers of being deprived of sleep, denied food for days and routinely menaced. “We will insert needles into your nose again and again,” a security officer can be heard telling Jaubert, the spy turned submarine-maker, on an audio recording, which the Frenchman said was made on his cellphone during an interrogation before he fled. “Do you know how painful it is to have needles put inside your nose repeatedly and then twisted around? Do you think you can resist this kind of pain?”

Jaubert said the interrogation was conducted by two men in long white robes in a bare, windowless room on April 22, 2007, at Dubai’s Al Muraggabat Police Station. On the recording, the interrogators described themselves as state security officers, with one warning Jaubert that “we are above the police, we are above the judges. We can keep here you forever.”

Dubai’s Media Affairs Office said the emirate “prides itself on a well-established system of law and order and judicial fairness.” It did not respond to repeated and detailed questions, and said that officials who could “are physically not here.”

A Developing Chill

Released unharmed but without his passport, Jaubert, who is married to an American, began to plot his escape. Last summer, four years after he arrived Dubai on a business-class ticket, he slipped away by sea. “They picked the wrong guy,” said Jaubert, 53, a former naval officer who, according to a confidential French report, left France’s DGSE intelligence service in March 1993. “With my background, I don’t need a passport to travel.”

The French Consulate in Dubai, which is the business, business and tourism hub of the United Arab Emirates, said it could not comment. France in May opened a naval facility in Dubai’s sister sheikhdom, Abu Dhabi, the UAE capital. Western diplomatic missions have mostly avoided public criticism of the legal system.

Dubai is still far more free and more predictable than most of its neighbors, but a chill has taken hold as property values tumble, jobs vanish and businessmen are detained. Tensions long masked by prosperity have burst into full view — tensions between a foreign majority and locals, known as Emirati; between a city studded with shiny modern skyscrapers, including the world’s tallest now in the final stages of construction; and Dubai’s antiquated political and legal foundations.

Washington counts the UAE as one of its best friends in the region. U.S. warships dock at Jebel Ali, a huge Dubai port area where Jaubert had his luxury submarine venture, Exomos, which promised rich clients “the ultimate underwater experience.” Big U.S. companies, including General Electric, Boeing and Microsoft, have their regional headquarters in Dubai, which has around 20,000 American residents.

These intimate relations include a deal that will allow the UAE to develop a nuclear-power program with U.S. know-how. The relationship came under scrutiny in Washington this year after the release of videos that showed a member of Abu Dhabi’s ruling family torturing an Afghan grain dealer he accused of cheating him. Abu Dhabi authorities are investigating.

The number of expatriates jailed in Dubai for alleged economic crimes is not known. The government issues no figures. “All I can say is that it is definitely on the rise,” said Samer Muscati, a lawyer with New York-based Human Rights Watch. The main concern, Muscati said, is not that all those arrested are necessarily innocent but that Dubai’s legal system is so opaque, fickle and often heedless of due process.

A vivid example of this is the plight of Zack Shahin, an American businessman of Lebanese origin. A former Pepsi-Cola executive who headed a Dubai property company called Deyaar Development, he was arrested in March last year in connection with a corruption probe involving the Dubai Islamic Bank. Shahin was held incommunicado for 16 days and was not charged for over a year. A Web site set up by his family in the United States alleged that Shahin had been tortured, and it pleaded for his release. The UAE blocked the Web site. U.S. diplomats asked that the case be handled in “an expeditious and transparent manner,” and complained that a delay in granting access to Shahin violated the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.

Early this summer, it looked as if Shahin might finally get his day in court and be allowed to go home to await trial. His family took out an ad praising Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, Dubai’s ruler, took down the Web site, and scratched together $1.1 million to meet bail. Just as Shahin was about to be released, state security officers arrived and hauled him away for questioning on new charges. He is still in detention. The bail money has not been returned, his lawyers said. Dubai officials said no one was available to comment on the case.

Locals have been picked up, too, and some complain of being unjustly detained. But well-connected Emirati rarely spend long in jail for economic crimes. Wary of debtors’ prison, a growing number of foreigners simply run away.

Simon Ford, a British entrepreneur, skipped town this summer after his company, a specialty gift service, was hit by the crisis and couldn’t pay its bills. He wrote an emotional “letter to the Dubai public” to apologize for bailing out. He acknowledged that he owed money, and said he had fled because Dubai “drives people to make horrible decisions.” He promised to pay back creditors.

Jaubert, the ex-French spy, said he fled because he feared getting stuck in Dubai’s penal twilight zone. A keen amateur marksman, he was first called in for questioning in 2007 after bullets were found at his submarine company offices. Interrogators told him that someone had been shot in the head and that he might be involved. Jaubert replied that he didn’t have a gun: his rifle, which he had declared at Customs, was still stuck at the Dubai airport. His bullets got through.

Security officers accused him of lying. Warning him that Dubai “is not France; there is no democracy here,” an interrogator heard on Jaubert’s tape threatened to put him “in a cave 300 meters underground, away from the world and your family, and I will keep you there until you tell the truth.” Jaubert said authorities later accused him of fraud because “they were just looking for something to nail me with.”

Jaubert blamed his woes on pressure on Dubai World to rein in some of the wilder investment projects launched by Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, the company’s chairman, who had first invited Jaubert to Dubai. “It was a palace struggle over money,” Jaubert said.

The Escape

Reached on his cellphone, Sulayem declined to comment. Dubai World’s internal audit chief, Abdul Qadar Obaid Ali, said Jaubert and his submarine venture ran into trouble for other reasons: His submarines didn’t work, and auditors uncovered evidence of fraud involving overbilling for equipment purchases. Jaubert denied this, saying all the transactions were approved and paid for by Dubai World managers.

Fired from Exomos, the submarine company, and unable to get his passport back, Jaubert hatched an elaborate escape plan. He sent his wife and their two boys to Florida. He had diving equipment shipped out from France — broken down into small bits to avoid arousing suspicion. Then, using a phony name, he bought a Zodiac dinghy and sailboat. Using Google Earth, he surveyed the UAE coastline for an escape route. He found an isolated beach and arranged for a friend to take the sailboat out into international waters.

On the eve of his escape, the former spy checked into a hotel near the beach, put on his diving equipment and donned a long abaya, the body-covering cloak worn by strictly observant Muslim women. He said he then went down the beach and swam underwater to a nearby harbor, where the only patrol boat in the vicinity was moored. He clambered aboard and sabotaged the fuel line to make sure the craft could not give chase, he said.

Jaubert then set out to sea in the dinghy to the boat his friend had positioned just outside the UAE’s territorial waters, and they sailed toward India. After eight days at sea, the pair arrived in Mumbai — an account corroborated by his traveling companion. With a new passport issued by the French consulate, Jaubert flew to join his wife in Florida, where he is writing a book he has titled “Escape From Dubai.”

Nakheel Dubai is a public joint stock company – not a private one

Dubai, August 17, 2009

 A letter presented to the Dubai Court of Appeal yesterday established that developer Nakheel is a public joint stock company (PJSC), not a private one.

The letter was produced by a lawyer representing Nakheel in the case of two former employees who are appealing against their convictions for bribery.

The defendants’ lawyer, Saeed Al Gelani, had said in an earlier session that a ruling by Court of First Instance that Nakheel was a public shareholding company was not true to facts.

He referred to an article by Nakheel’s legal advisor, David Nicholson, that appeared in Arroaya magazine, which is published by the developer. The article said Nakheel had become a private company and was published before the defendants were sent for trial. As a result, said Al Gelani, the two had been tried wrongly.

The accused are 32-year-old UAE national WA, a former general manager of sales at Nakheel, and Egyptian KN, 28, who was a sales representative at Nakheel. Prosecutors say they allegedly asked for a bribe of Dh5.1 million from a real estate brokerage firm to help it buy a plot owned by Nakheel.

Dubai Criminal Court jailed the defendants for three years and ordered them to pay Dh3m. The court is considering a third appeal by Public Prosecution.

original source Emirates Business 24/7

Dubai property owners treated like puppets – Loss off confidence swamps Real Estate Market

August 15. 2009 11:34AM GMT

DUBAI // Rashmey Seth paid Dh3.2 million for two luxury flats, furnished them and rented them out. That was nearly two years ago – but she is still not sure she actually owns the properties.

Receipts from Nakheel confirm that she paid the state-backed developer in full for a three-bedroom flat on the Palm Jumeirah. Mrs Seth has similar paperwork for a one-bedroom unit in downtown Burj Dubai, purchased last year from Emaar, the Middle East’s largest developer.

What she has not received from either of the property giants are title deeds – the crucial documents that verify ownership.

It is a predicament shared by many, their status as lawful owners in limbo because of the absence of a piece of paper that, after properties are registered with the Dubai Land Department, should be handed to buyers.

The issue, says Mrs Seth, makes her wonder whether she has a legal right to sell her flats.

She is by no means the only property owner in Dubai worried about not having deeds to the flats she has paid for. Without deeds, it is unclear what would happen if the company they bought their property from went bankrupt.

There could also be problems with selling the property on: potential buyers could find it difficult to get a mortgage without formal proof of ownership.

In Mrs Seth’s case, her dilemma has shaken her confidence in Dubai’s freehold property laws, introduced three years ago to give foreigners the right of ownership.
“Why am I not getting the comfort that there’s a legal structure to support me, that makes me feel sure that I really own my property?” said Mrs Seth, 52, an Indian who has lived and worked in Dubai for 28 years.

Her fears are not unfounded. Law Number 7 of 2006 states that until flats are registered with the Land Department, which will then grant title deeds, buyers lack the rights of fully fledged owners.

In an email statement, Emaar did not specify how many of its property holders had not had units registered or lacked deeds.

Nakheel said the “majority of … purchasers who have taken handover have received their title deeds”.

Given the size of Nakheel’s development portfolio, that could still mean thousands have not received them.

There are indications that a substantial number of buyers across Dubai lack deeds. After posting a query on Crest of Dubai, a website used by residents of the Palm Jumeirah, The National received nearly two dozen complaints.

And Michael Aldendorff, a 39-year-old South African who is one of the leaders of an informal homeowners’ group in the Discovery Gardens development, reckoned that most buyers in the 26,000-apartment community lacked deeds.

“I don’t think that many people here have them at all,” he said.

That, however, has not stopped developers from asking purchasers to pay to get their deeds.
Mrs Seth said she was asked to hand over about Dh55,000 for flat-registration fees to Emaar and Nakheel. She said she had little choice but to comply; according to Land Department regulations, a buyer cannot register a property without the developer’s consent.

“They take these undated cheques from you, and they bank it at their will, so what can you do about it?” she said of Emaar and Nakheel.

“If there is a delay or something from the Land Department in getting the registration, or the documentation is not ready from the developer’s side, then why are they taking my money?”

Sabri Pozem, who owns a one-bedroom flat in Discovery Gardens, in which he has a tenant, wonders whether the authorities – or anyone apart from himself – have records of his purchase.

Mr Pozem, a 29-year-old from Turkey, is one of the owners in the development who complain about disorganisation among Tamweel, the mortgage lender, Nakheel, the master developer, and property companies which, after purchasing Discovery Gardens apartment buildings from Nakheel, have sold them as flats to individual buyers.

He said a salesperson with the company he bought his flat from entered the property last month and began showing it off to a prospective buyer. His tenant had just come out the shower and was wearing only a towel when she encountered the surprise visitors.

“The problem is, they are so disorganised they don’t even know who bought which apartment in the building,” said Mr Pozem, who said he had tried many times to obtain his deed and has had no success.

He fears that if he wanted to sell his flat, the records would show it was still owned by the property firm. “If they go bankrupt tomorrow, I’m basically out of luck; all my money’s gone because I don’t have a title deed.”

Mr Pozem is not the only owner worried that without deeds they might not be able to sell their units.

Anne, 37, a British national, bought two one-bedroom flats in the Dubai Marina’s Marina Promenade in August last year and two more in Green Lakes Towers in Jumeirah Lake Towers. Despite investing nearly Dh4m, she does not have a deed for any of them.

Anne, who asked that only her middle name be published, said her main concern was that banks would refuse a mortgage to prospective purchasers without a deed, an increasingly common requirement after the credit crunch.

She also said Emaar, the developer of Marina Promenade, and Asam Investment & Real Estate, the Green Lakes Towers developer, had been little help.

“I’ve been given exactly the same reasoning: ‘there’s a queue at the Land Department; expect to hear from us in September’.”

A senior administrator at Asam Investment & Real Estate, who gave his name only as Abraham, told The National that a backlog at the Land Department was responsible for the delay.

In Green Lakes Towers, he said, about 700 units in the three towers were still waiting to be registered.

“We cannot do them individually; we have to register the whole tower together,” he said. He added that he hoped the process could be completed within a month.
Humaid al Shamsi, the head of the transactions section at the Land Department, acknowledged the issue.

Eighty per cent of the buildings on the Palm Jumeirah have been registered, he said, but he did not have details of how many flats had been registered or title deeds granted.

At Jumeirah Lake Towers, he said, “the process has been started now.” He attributed any delay to “extra measurements” being done to the buildings.

Emaar declined to give reasons for delays in handing over deeds, but said in an email that it “works closely with the Dubai Land Department to assist its customers during the process, including having a representative from the Land Department available for assistance at the Emaar Property Handover office.”

However, Karim Nassif, a property lawyer at Habib al Mulla & Co, said the slowdown in the property market meant a logjam at the Land Department was an unlikely cause for the problem.

In most cases of undelivered title deeds, he said, “the developer should be held liable – 100 per cent – for it. They should be delivering their title deeds”.

And he had a warning for the worried owners: “If they don’t have the title deed, their transaction, according to the law, is voidable.”

original source The National

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Dubai ist dringend auf neue Finanz-Injektionen angewiesen – 80 Millliaren Verbildlichkeiten

original Handelsblatt Germany

Dubai unternimmt einen neuen Anlauf, um seinen gigantischen Schuldenberg abzubauen. Die Regierung rief eine Finanzagentur ins Leben, die strategisch wichtigen Firmen des Emirats mit Krediten unter die Arme greifen soll. Das Geld stammt aus dem Verkauf von Bonds über 20 Mrd. Dollar und soll in einen Unterstützungsfonds fließen.

DUBAI. Die erste Tranche über zehn Mrd. Dollar wurde im Februar von der Zentralbank in Abu Dhabi gekauft. Die Märkte feierten den Schritt damals als Zeichen, dass die Regierung der Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate dem hochverschuldeten Dubai im Zweifelsfall aus der Patsche helfen wird. Nun sucht das Emirat nach nationalen und internationalen Investoren, die das Kapital für die zweite Tranche über zehn Mrd. Dollar lockermachen sollen.

Dubai ist dringend auf neue Finanz-Injektionen angewiesen, um seine Verbindlichkeiten von insgesamt 80 Mrd. Dollar zu schultern. Das Emirat wurde durch die Immobilienkrise und den Rückgang der Touristenzahlen besonders hart getroffen. Seit Herbst 2008 brachen die Häuser- und Wohnungspreise zum Teil um 50 Prozent ein. Spekulanten konnten auf einmal ihre Bankkredite nicht mehr bedienen, Entwicklungsgesellschaften reichten den Zahlungsengpass an Subunternehmer weiter. Die Baubranche erwirtschaftet fast die Hälfte des Bruttoinlandsprodukts (BIP) in Dubai.

Experten begrüßten die Einrichtung der neuen Finanzagentur als positives Signal, kritisierten jedoch den Mangel an Transparenz: “Es ist völlig unklar, welche Betriebe in den Genuss der Staatsgelder kommen und zu welchen Bedingungen”, sagte Simon Williams, Chefökonom bei HSBC in Dubai. Finanzminister Abdulrahman Al Saleh hatte lediglich angekündigt, dass öffentliche oder regierungsnahe Gesellschaften von “strategischer Bedeutung” Zugang zu den Darlehen hätten. “Investoren würden auch gerne wissen, ob die Mittel für die Rückzahlung der Schulden oder für die Finanzierung neuer Projekte eingesetzt werden”, betonte deshalb Farouk Soussa von der Ratingagentur Standard & Poor?s.

Aus der ersten Bond-Tranche über zehn Mrd. Dollar wurde bereits mehr als die Hälfte verbraucht, teilte die Regierung in Dubai mit. Vor allem Immobilienfirmen mit staatlicher Beteiligung hätten profitiert, heißt es. Die Konditionen sind äußerst günstig: Die Unternehmen bekommen für ihre Kredite einen Zinssatz von etwas mehr als vier Prozent. Dubai seinerseits zahlt an die Zentralbank einen Zinssatz von vier Prozent über eine Laufzeit von fünf Jahren.

Die Frage ist nun, wer bei der zweiten Bond-Tranche über ebenfalls zehn Mrd. Dollar einsteigt. Nach Angaben von Omar bin Sulaiman, Vorsitzender des Dubai International Financial Centre, haben private Investoren und Staatsfonds Interesse gezeigt. Anleger von außen wären nach Ansicht von Fachleuten auch bitter nötig, um die Kreditwürdigkeit des Emirats zu heben. “Wenn Dubai die zweite Tranche komplett selbst stemmen könnte, wären das gute Nachrichten über eine frische Finanzquelle”, meint Philippe Dauba-Pantanacce von Standard Chartered.

Davon ist bislang allerdings nichts zu sehen. Falls alle Stricke reißen, steht jedoch die Zentralbank Gewehr bei Fuß: “Wir sind bereit, Teile des Bonds zu kaufen”, erklärte Notenbankchef Sultan Al Suwaidi. Marktbeobachter sehen darin eine wichtige Rückversicherung, dass die Zentralregierung der Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate Dubai aus politischen Gründen nicht fallen lassen wird.

Dennoch kann das Emirat nicht bei allen Engpässen nach Abu Dhabi schielen. Mitte Dezember muss die Bau-Entwicklungsgesellschaft Nakheel einen Kredit in Höhe von 3,5 Mrd. Dollar refinanzieren. Die Firma, die so spektakuläre Immobilienprojekte wie die künstliche Insel Palm Jumeirah angestoßen hat, drücken massive Zahlungsprobleme. Nach unbestätigten Berichten aus der Finanzszene hat das Unternehmen seine Gläubiger aufgefordert, auf 30 Prozent ihrer Außenstände zu verzichten. “Die Refinanzierung von Nakheel ist ein wichtiger Lackmustest für die Entschuldungskapazität Dubais”, sagt Philipp Lotter von der Ratingagentur Moody?s.

Dubai `s glitzy property market is in trouble – no doubt about that

Western investors fear Dubai`s Wild East reputation.

Dubai’s property market is in trouble, there’s no doubt about that. Just take a look at the hundreds of motionless cranes, unfinished projects and the expats who are leaving in droves as they lose their jobs.

And prices and rents which soared during a six-year boom have crashed since late last year. According to one resident who recently moved in the City, it now costs 150,000 dirhams to rent a three-bedroom flat on the Palm, a man-made island off the coast of the emirate, around the same it would have cost to rent a one-bedroom appartment there a year ago.

It’s not just the global downturn thats the concern for Dubai’s once-booming property market, but also the lack of transparency and need for greater regulation. And that’s what’s going to keep the western investor from splashing the cash.

Investors looking at Dubai’s real estate sector are a different breed. They are no longer looking to snap up properties in the hope of making a quick buck. They are more conservative with a longer term outlook.

“RERA (the Real Estate Regulatory Authority) has been trying to introduce regulation to minimise the impact of speculative investors,” said Andrew White, head of Middle East operations at UK-based investor Kenmore property Group.

“But some have said this is like shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted because the downturn has more or less wiped these out anyway.” So, a little too late perhaps ? And what about the recently announced planned merger of Emaar Properties, builder of the world’s tallest tower, with
three other local property firms?

Well, so far no one really knows. Simply put, there has been little in the way of information about this.

“If you look at Emaar and the potential merger, there is little financial clarity on how this will proceed and that is going to worry investors,” said Bobby Sarkar, analyst at Al Mal Capital. ”The U.S. and European markets have high levels of clarity in terms of regulation, but that isn’t the case here.”
 
There is no doubt however that the government is trying to improve regulation and transparency. Several wins for the property market over the last year include the introduction of a monthly rental index and new laws for property maintenance, not to forget the continuing effort to crack down on corruption.

But there is a long way to go and more is needed for Dubai to come close to rivalling mature markets such as the UK and U.S. which offer the longer-term investor the transparency they crave.

original source Reuters

Dubai Property Market – Flippers, skippers, runners, survivors battle it out

source PropertyWeekly

‘Flipping’, ‘skipping’ and ‘running’ are relatively new terms in the argot of Dubai’s property market. Many would know about at least one person who has done one of the three ‘disrespectful’ things, and may even be aware of several more via the city’s thriving rumour mill.

The residents who remain also have a new nomenclature for themselves — the ‘survivors’.

New players experiment with speculation

Flipping was hitherto the activity of buying and selling property instantly, and solely for instant profit. Despite the impression that this dangerous game is a thing of yore and was once the exclusive prerogative of high risk takers, it is not, and has attracted new players.

Flipping was once restricted to incomplete properties, but they are now doing it with credit notes. Also, flippers are not necessarily risk takers; some are trying to recover investments gone awry, while others are desperate for much needed cash.

Offloading multiple units

AR is a classic flipper. In December 2007, he owned three apartments — on paper — at various buildings in Dubai Marina. By September 2008, he had sold two for a cumulative profit of Dh1.23 million, despite the fact that both were not ready for occupation.

“I am lucky that I disposed them of before it was time to start paying my mortgages and before the economic downturn,” he says. “If things get bad, I will move into the one I still own, so no money lost. But, many other people who acted impulsively have done badly. I know some really sad stories and consider myself blessed.”

However, despite his narrow escape from steep losses, AR cannot shed his innate instincts. When questioned, he admits that he has purchased a credit note for 60 per cent of its face value, and is looking for a buyer who will take it off him for a profit.

Skippers caved in

Skippers are other risk takers like AR, but who didn’t have the sense, instincts, or gumption to offload their properties when the market soured. When they could not find buyers and saw alarming drops in prices, they caved.

Faced with the prospect of bounced cheques, rising debts and the threat of unemployment, some of these foolhardy investors just upped and left, or skipped.

Skippers are not available for quotes, but TQ who left the country in the first week of February is believed to have invested in no less than six properties across the country. A feat made possible by two facts: he was the creative director of an advertising agency and had a substantial salary, and he dealt with an Islamic bank that allows customers to have multiple mortgages.

Coincidentally, the day he lost his job is also the day he realised that the next set of payments towards his property portfolio totalled Dh246,000, and also, that there were no prospects of serious buyers on the anvil, for any of them.

Forfeiting down payments

His simple solution was to forfeit the nominal down payments he had made on the said properties, and to head back to his native country to sit out the storm. In his case, he paid off his credit cards, cleared his lesser debts, and told his bank that he was giving up his claim on the many apartments he owned.

Trail of debts

Runners, on the other hand, don’t bother doing any of the latter or the formalities associated with relocating from the country. One minute they are in Dubai, revelling in their enviable status as the owners of several properties, and the next minute, they are simply missing from the country, with only the trail of debts proving they lived here. They could now be anywhere.

Finally, those who have heard the horror stories and heaved heavy sighs say they too need a moniker for not falling into any of the above categories.

Ordinary residents who continue to pay rent on their homes, have strongly resisted the urge to invest in property. Those who actually live in the properties they purchased say they are just holding tight.

BJ owns a modest studio flat at The Greens and his brother MJ rents a one-bedroom apartment at Dubai Marina, and by their own admission, they worry about the appalling state of the world, just as much as they are alarmed about their own job security… or the possible lack of it.

According to MJ, their mission is to put away and save as much money as they can every month just so that they are not taken unawares by any unpleasant surprises — be it falling prices, increased rents, unexpected payments or unplanned debts.

“All those people we hear about have titles that classify them into categories. We believe that the rest of us who live in Dubai and eke out an everyday existence without running, skipping or flipping need one too. Just call us the ‘survivors’,” say the brothers.

And they are not being sardonic.

Flippers now deal in credit notes

• Despite the impression that flipping is a thing of yore and was once the exclusive prerogative of high risk takers, it has attracted new players
• Flipping was once restricted to incomplete properties, but they are now doing it with credit notes
• Also, flippers are not necessarily risk takers; some are trying to recover investments gone awry, while others are desperate for much needed cash
• Skippers are other risk takers, but who didn’t have the sense, instincts, or gumption to offload their properties when the market soured
• Runners simply go missing from the country, leaving behind a huge trail of debts

Al Fajer Properties Case – Zadeh says he’s a victim of a system in which the rulers can manipulate police and the courts to protect their business

Al Fajer Properties Dubai 2009 , Sheikh Maktoum Hasher Maktoum Al Maktoum

source

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — In this Gulf city-state, two things have long been untouchable: business interests and the ruling family. However, an attempt to sue a member of the family over an alleged financial swindle is a sign of how much the economic crisis has rattled business as usual here.

Shahram Abdullah Zadeh accuses the brother-in-law , sheikh Hasher Maktoum Al Maktoum, of Dubai’s emir illegally of taking over his real-estate firm Al Fajer Properties and having him detained by police to help the swindle.

Zadeh, a 37-year-old Iranian national who has lived in Dubai all his life, brought a civil case against the brother-in-law and his son Sheikh Maktoum Hasher Maktoum Al Maktoum to get his firm Al Fajer Properties back, a rare move. Even more surprising, shrahm Zadeh tried to raise criminal charges, but that step went nowhere because prosecutors rejected it.

The case has raised questions about whether Dubai really is what it claims to be: A boomtown where international businessmen can safely invest and turn a profit; or rather, a nest of cronyism and connections where royal blood can still trump entrepreneurial effort.

Such questions were largely ignored by everyone – businessmen and politicians alike – as long as the cash was rolling in during Dubai’s stunning expansion over the past decade. But now the emirate has hit the skids in the world financial crisis.

“During the boom, Dubai’s shortcomings were glossed over, but now that the economy is struggling, it’s becoming a different story,” said Christopher Davidson, an author of two books on the United Arab Emirates and a lecturer at Durham University in Britain.

Dubai’s emir, Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, led the emirate’s vast financial ambitions. But business ran far ahead of the effort to modernize legislation in what remains a traditional Arab monarchy, where the ruler and his family hold final say.

Now the government has been trying to rein in some fast-and-loose business practices. About a dozen former executives are in custody for various investigations. Some have close ties to the government, but none of those in custody are related to the ruling family.

Zadeh’s case goes farther – breaking to taboo of questioning Dubai’s leadership. Zadeh says he’s a victim of a system in which the rulers can manipulate police and the courts to protect their business.

“If Dubai cannot provide security for foreign investors, they might as well switch off all the lights,” he said.

Attempts over the past weeks by The Associated Press to contact the brother-in-law, Sheikh Hasher Maktoum bin Juma’a Al Maktoum, were unsuccessful. Hasher Maktoum Al Maktoumand his company attorneys did not return repeated phone calls or respond to interview requests.

In the first session of Zadeh’s civil case, Hasher Maktoum Al Maktoum and his lawyers failed to appear. In the second a week ago, his lawyer asked the court for more time to study the allegations. The case is to resume May 4.

Zadeh and the Sheikh Maktoum Hasher Al Maktoum went into business in 2004. Foreigners are allowed to deal in property only after finding an Emirati sponsor to officially register a company. The usual practice is for the Emirati sponsor to give his signature for an annual fee or profit share. Several members of the sprawling ruling family are involved in such deals.

Zadeh set up a firm, Al Fajer Properties, and was chief executive while Sheikh  Hasher Maktoum Al Maktoum held the trade license. The firm was profitable and is now worth about $2 billion, according to Zadeh. But the partnership soured over delays in building a commercial tower, Juemirah Business Centre.

Zadeh said in an affidavit to Dubai’s attorney general that he was arrested in February 2008 and held for 60 days. He says he was never charged with any crime but was questioned over his business – including the combination of his safe.

While Zadeh was in detention, Sheikh Hasher Maktoum Al Maktoum took over the company Al Fajer Properties by appointing his son Sheik Maktoum Hasher Maktoum Al Maktoum as chief executive, ousting Zadeh, according to Zadeh’s filing. When he was released, Zadeh says he found his office safe had been cleaned of documents showing he was the owner of Al Fajer Properties and Hasher Maktoum Al Maktoums partner.

Zadeh also says police tried to push him to sign a document saying he had no connection to Al Fajer Properties. He submitted to the court

Al Fajer documents listing him as CEO and transactions that his lawyers contend show he was the sole investor. The Associated Press was given a copy.

Sheikh Hasher Maktoum Al Maktoum  “thought he could do it all because he’s a Sheik,” Zadeh said.

Police refused to comment on whether Zadeh was detained. Shahram Zadeh says they continue to hold his passport and so far he has had little luck pushing his claims.

He submitted a criminal complaint but the attorney general refused to investigate, giving no reason.

Zadeh then filed a complaint directly to Dubai’s emir, who holds what is called the Ruler’s Court. Residents can bring to the emir what they believe are injustices unaddressed by the courts – from disputes over money to wrongful deaths.

Zadeh says he has received no response.

see also: Terahn Times

More: Al Fajer Properties Dubai – Jumeirah Business Centre – Ebony Ivory Towers Dubai

Don`t kiss your girlfriend in a Dubai Taxi !

source GulfNews

Dubai: An Arab man is in police custody and could face deportation after being accused of kissing his girlfriend while they were both in a taxi in Dubai, Police told Gulf News.

A police source from Al Rifaa police station said that the Lebanese businessman working in Dubai, was arrested by Criminal and Investigation police officials recently while he was accompanying his Ukrainian girlfriend in a taxi.

The man – in his late thirties – is being detained at Al Rifa’a police station. He was later transferred to Al Aweer central jail.

The man said he was leaving a hotel in Dubai’s Al Rifaa area with his girlfriend. They were sitting next to each other in the taxi. “We took a taxi and I was sitting next to my girlfriend. I was leaning at her showing her a video clip on my mobile phone,” he said.

He said that after a few minutes the taxi was stopped by undercover police. “We were asked to leave the taxi. They asked me why I was kissing her in public. They said this is not allowed here,” he said.

The man said he and his girlfriend were arrested and taken to Al Rifa’a police station.

Police said that the man and his girlfriend have been arrested for committing an indecent gesture in public.

ACI Group denies CEO Robin Lohmann has been jailed, fled UAE

source Arabian Business

UAE-based real estate broker ACI Group has denied stories in German business media that the company’s CEO Robin Lohmann has been jailed.

Trade title Financial Intelligence Service last week reported that Lohmann has been under investigation by the Dubai police.

The paper stated that four independent sources had confirmed Lohmann had been taken into custody for one night, had surrendered his passport to the authorities, and was not allowed to leave the country before the debts of ACI Dubai were settled.

Real estate companies have been battered by the collapse in property prices in the UAE, which has led to several master developments grinding to a standstill.

Sub developers with projects within these master developments have been battling to satisfy investors who have paid deposits for property that is not currently being built, while struggling to pay contractors on jobs that are ongoing.

Last week a senior executive of Khoie Properties, the developer behind a $550 million project on Ras al Khaimah’s man-made island of Al Marjan, was handed a three year jail sentence for bouncing two cheques totalling over $30 million.

An official from ACI, who spoke exclusively to Arabian Business but would not be named or directly quoted, said that reports in the German business press about Lohmann’s arrest, and rumours circulating in the Gulf that he had fled the country, were not true.

ACI Group is a German-based company that entered the Gulf market in 2004 with a multi-million dollar marketing programme for a succession of projects and established a glamorous headquarters – a large converted beach villa that overlooks the Arabian Gulf.

High profile projects in the emirate included tie-ups with F1 racing legend Michael Schumacher and former Wimbledon tennis champion Boris Becker.

The office is still functioning, as Arabian Business discovered when it visited the premises last week. Mr Lohmann was not available for a meeting and has not returned our calls.

A company spokesman mounted a robust defence for ACI, noting that, unlike many other developers who had already fled the country, ACI was still operating and construction work was ongoing. The company’s web site, he said, showed pictures of ongoing construction work that proved work is progressing.

There are 19 projects promoted on the web site, but only seven have “construction updates” that show progress on building sites.

The remainder, which includes the Boris Becker Beach Resort & Tennis Academy in Ras Al Khaimah, have no construction updates on the web site.

ACI said that no refunds were being paid to investors because projects have been postponed, not cancelled, but added that investors were not required to pay additional instalments until construction work restarted.

Stripping down the laws

source Kippreport

June 21st, 2009

A Lebanese man in Dubai has been sentenced to one month in jail followed by deportation for wearing a cancer awareness t-shirt featuring a nearly naked Victoria Beckham, reports The National. The Dubai Court of Appeals charged him with offending public decency.

The 28-year-old was reportedly stopped at a bakery in Dubai last year by an Arab man, who questioned him about his t-shirt, which showed a nearly nude Beckham with the slogan “Protect the Skin You’re In.”

The two argued, and after the accused left to change his shirt, the police were called and charged him with three accounts; drunkenness, fleeing the scene of a conflict and offending public decency. The first two charges have since been dropped.

The shirts were designed by Marc Jacobs for a cancer awareness campaign; the accused was working as a brand manager for the Chalhoub Group, which holds the franchise for Marc Jacobs in the region.

Laws regarding public behavior in Dubai came to light when a British couple was arrested for having sex on a public beach last year.

It was followed by media reports earlier this year that claimed that the Dubai Executive Council had launched a campaign against what it considers inappropriate behavior in public. According to the reports, playing loud music, dancing, nudity, kissing, holding hands and being under the influence of alcohol in public will be considered offenses, and may result in jail time and fines.

Wearing revealing clothing in public, including short skirts and shirts that expose shoulders, will also be considered offenses, the council said.

Last week, the British Foreign Office launched a campaign urging British nationals to dress appropriately and respect local customs when overseas on holiday. The office warned that there have been several cases of British nationals being charged with indecent public exposure while on vacation, reported the Telegraph.

Research by the office found that half of all British women who sunbathe topless risk prosecution, and that one in seven men admitted to having had sex in a public place on holiday.

Some of the instructions given include: “Rude gestures in Dubai are considered to be an obscene act and offenders can be prosecuted,” and “topless sunbathing in Abu Dhabi is forbidden and liable to be punished by imprisonment or deportation.”

The latest incident again highlights the struggle that Dubai seems to be facing: being a cosmopolitan city with traditional Islamic laws. With more cases of “public indecency” making headlines, is the emirate trying to prove a point? And will the negative publicity prove to be detrimental to Dubai’s image?

Dubai doesn`t need enemies with friends like Paris Hilton

source Arabian Business Blog

Dubai has spent the past 20 years marketing itself as a luxury holiday destination for wealthy, westernised, European and Asian travellers – work that has paid off with the city becoming a household name in living rooms from Hong Kong to Huddersfield.

Americans, despite direct Emirates flights beginning several years ago to New York, and more recently to San Francisco, Houston and Los Angeles, still don’t entirely grasp the Dubai brand.

All that could change in the next few weeks as global party princess Paris Hilton is in town filming a series of Paris Hilton BFF for music television channel MTV.

Or will it?

So far, Ms Hilton has not worked too hard at breaking down the stereotypical image of a modern Arab state. In an interview with Jimmy Kimmel, a popular late night talk show host in the United States, she laughed off suggestions that only her eyes would be visible when dressed for Dubai, but went on to joke that she would be wearing a burkha.

More seriously, and I’m sure much to the annoyance to the generous Dubai people that are hosting her, she said that “they are very strict”, and “the rules are crazy out there”.

She eventually corrected Kimmel by saying that in Dubai “they are a little bit more lenient than anywhere else,” but undid the recovery by saying that she would not wear the perfectly charming little black dress she was wearing on the talk show.

In all, the interview could have been talking about Hilton going to Taliban-ruled Kabul, rather than the Las Vegas of the Middle East, Dubai.

See for yourself and let me know what you think.

Paris Hilton Talks About Her Former BFFs, and Filming in Dubai

Dubai – UAE: Arbitration cases to touch Dh70 Billion – 80 per cent of them are real estate and construction-related

source Zawya – Business 24/7

Dubai, 15 June 2009

The value of arbitration cases in Dubai has more than doubled to Dh65 billion this year over the past year, and about 80 per cent of them are real estate and construction-related, said a top official from the Dubai International Arbitration Centre (Diac).

“Under the arbitration mechanism, we have for this year alone 140 cases in addition to the 100 cases we had last year. As of March, active cases under examination is worth Dh65bn but I think the number has already increased and the amount of disputes can reach Dh70bn this year,” Dr Hussam Talhuni, Director of Diac, told Emirates Business.

He expects the number of such cases to continue to increase “dramatically” due to the current adverse economic climate.

Disputes under the Diac is different from those lodged in Dubai Courts. Arbitration – a form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) – involves resolution of disputes outside the courts, in which a third party reviews the case and imposes a decision that is legally binding for both sides.

“We are not related to Dubai Courts, we are helping the ministry on a federal level to adopt modern systems for the courts… The increase in the awareness of the importance of arbitration has led to the more than double increase in the number of cases, 75-79 per cent of which are related to property and construction,” Talhuni said.

Unlike litigation cases, arbitration takes shorter period. “We usually finalise more than 60 per cent of the cases by the end of the year,” he said.

Dubai is now looking at speeding up the procedure further to be able to cut down the resolution period in one to three weeks, Talhuni said, adding that the centre is hoping to finalise the ADR mechanism by the end of the year.

Talhuni said the current economic situation requires quick and fast action from all parties to accelerate the process of economic reforms and one of the mechanisms to resolve trade disputes is by providing quick solutions which will lead to the reduction of the number of court cases.

He said the ADR mechanism will create an atmosphere of trust in the business community and will provide the investors, both local and international, the confidence about the efficiency of the UAE courts in resolving commercial disputes quickly and at a lower cost.

“The current system involves litigation, which involved the courts and all the rigid procedures, according to the national law, where a judge will hear the parties and give them years and years of procedures. Whereas in alternative dispute resolution, since they are alternative they aim to provide quicker solutions, in a less expensive process and more peaceful climate for the parties,” he said.

The centre is studying on whether to introduce this “new legal layer of mediation/reconciliation” in the courts. “Under the courts, they have this amicable settlement mechanism but if you compare that to the modern application of ADR, you cannot consider it as part of the modern applications.”

Legal experts say more than 90 per cent of the cases are resolved even before they come to court anywhere in the world. Despite this, Talhuni said, ADR is still much more needed in today’s times. “Mediation is the mechanism that will help parties settle the disputes… wherein maybe each party may give up some part of their rights and accordingly sign a settlement,” he said.

By Karen Remo-Listana

Where Are The Locals?

Forbes     March 11, 2009

Seven suspects have reportedly been singled out by the authorities, but all of them are foreigners.

Dubai’s anti-corruption probe seemed in full swing Tuesday, after seven expatriate businessmen were reportedly accused by prosecutors of taking part in a $500.0 million fraud at Dubai Islamic Bank. The suspects included three Britons, two Pakistanis, one Turk and one American, according to the Associated Press, raising concerns that local Emiraatis might not be held as fully accountable as the expat brigade.

“Some might say that it’s evidence of the anti-corruption drive, but again, where are the Emiraatis?” wondered Christopher Davidson, a British academic who has authored several books on Dubai and the United Arab Emirates. “There have to be the local sponsors, the line managers, the people whose desk at which the buck stopped.”

The alleged fraud involved a company called CCH, which according to reports was linked to some of the named suspects and may have forged documents to fraudulently obtain funds from Dubai Islamic Bank. The bank issued a statement on Tuesday claiming its exposure to CCH was around $330.0 million and that it was chasing down assets “in a range of countries.”

The former chief executive of Dubai Islamic Bank, Saad Abdul Razak, was reportedly taken into custody last year for questioning, as part of the authorities’ probe of the real-estate sector, but his name does not seem to have made the final list. Press reports claim that a handful of local Emiraati executives have also been interrogated, including Sami al-Hashemi, ex-CEO of real-estate developer Mizin, and Abdul Salam al-Marri, head of the Lagoons development on Dubai Creek.

Although Dubai’s defenders cite the example of a former cabinet minister, named in press reports as Khalifa Mohammad Bakhit al-Falasi, who was sentenced to two years in jail in February for an unrelated case of fraud and embezzlement, the truth is that very few local Emiraatis have been charged or punished as a result of such investigations.

Expatriate businessmen have also accused the Dubai authorities of torture and detention without charge, including Zack Shahin, ex-CEO of Dubai Islamic Bank’s real-estate subsidiary Deyaar Properties, and Shahram Abdullah Zadeh, former manager of developer Al-Fajer Properties. (See “Desert Storm In Dubai.”)

Zack Shahin is still behind bars and still has not been charged, according to one of his American lawyers, James Pitts, who told Forbes that there were around 40 other foreign businessmen in a similar situation in Dubai.

When asked whether Shahin might have provided names to the authorities in exchange for a lighter potential sentence, or exemption from the charge sheet, Pitts replied: “I am certainly not aware of any such arrangement.” 

Read also: Desert Storm in Dubai

Read also : Madoff of The Mideast Denies Charges 

Dubai and Abu Dhabi: Be careful with cheques, police warn

source TheNational 
May 25. 2009

Bank customers in UAE must be careful while writing and signing cheques to avoid penalties that can include jail, according to Abu Dhabi Police.

Speaking yesterday at a banking workshop, Lt Col Abdulwahab al Hosani, head of investigations at the capital police section, said banks often make customers sign blank cheques when they apply for loans in a bid to speed up applications.

“Some people are in a hurry to get the loan to buy a car or property, so they sign without even knowing the conditions”, said Lt Col al Hosani. “Some banks would then issue monthly cheques for that person, which he or she cannot pay, and result in a number of bouncing cheques. A person could go to jail because of bounced cheques.”

Ismail al Bloushi, a senior official at the UAE Central Bank, said there were fewer returned cheques this year. When the economy was booming people used cheques more.

In the past four months, out of 9,742,073 cheques issued, almost six per cent were returned, less than last year, police say.

The bank will try to resolve the issue if a cheque bounces, and refer it to police if they fail. The police may also try to find a solution before going to court.

The Central Bank closes accounts with more than four returned cheques a year, and keeps a blacklist of customers with a history of bouncing cheques.

Dissent upsets ruler’s court for Dubai investors

source FinancialTimes

“We know the company needs the money – but we need it, too.”

That was the refrain of one investor, summing up the attitude of many, as shareholders staged an unprecedented walkout at the annual general meeting of Dubai’s largest real estate company this month.

Emaar’s AGM has always provided fireworks, even during the good times when property values were rocketing. But with the credit crunch having demolished the real estate market, shareholder after shareholder grabbed the microphone to plead for a dividend payout.

The background to this is simple: Dubai has gone from gilt-laden boom town to debt-ridden globalisation victim in the space of only six months. The AGM offered Dubai’s citizens a rare outlet for public dissent in a country where political parties are outlawed and rallies require government approval.

The meeting, held in a hall usually reserved for trade exhibitions, was a corporate version of the ruler’s court – or diwan – where the emirate’s leader traditionally heard petitions by the clans and families allied to him.

„Folter geht uns alle an“ – German Press – Torture – Issa bin Zayed al Nahyan

source German Press Merkur

Dietramszell , Germany, 18.05.2009

Mit Applaus ist am Sonntag die Predigt von Pfarrer Franz Burgey quittiert worden. Er hatte die Machenschaften von Skeikh Issa bin Zayed Al Nahyan kritisiert.

Die Kirchgänger beklatschten die Stellungnahme des Ortsgeistlichen von Lochen und Linden, der sich ausdrücklich von den Machenschaften von Prinz Issa Bin Zayed al-Nahyan distanziert hatte.

Pfarrer Burgey, emeritierter Professor und Hobby-Historiker, ist bekannt für seine tiefschürfenden Predigten. Gestern nutzte er die Gunst die Stunde, um manchen Stammtischparolen eine klare Absage zu erteilen. Immer wieder wird in Dietramszell argumentiert, der Scheich sei nun Mal aus einem anderen Kulturkreis. Das Sprichwort „andere Länder, andere Sitten“ ist nach Burgeys Worten aber „völlig unzutreffend“. Unter Berufung auf islamische Gelehrte sagte der Ortsgeistliche: „Mord, Blutvergießen und das Stiften von Unheil, Unordnung und Zerstörung gelten als schwere Verbrechen. Niemand hat das Recht, Leben und Eigentum anderer Menschen zu schädigen oder wegzunehmen.“

Selbst wenn Mordversuch und Folter in anderen Ländern erlaubt wären, sagte Burgey, „erwarten wir von einem Mitbürger, der hier in Deutschland unter dem Schutz der deutschen Gesetze lebt, dass er sich auch anderswo entsprechend benimmt, sonst ist er als Nachbar nicht tragbar“. Landesweit sei mit Empörung aufgenommen worden, dass Dietramszeller die Folterungen mit dem Verweis auf die Landessitten in Abu Dhabi gleichmütig hingenommen hätten. „Es geht mir nicht darum, Leute wegen unglücklicher Äußerungen zu schimpfen“, predigte Burgey. Wenn man plötzlich vor der Kamera oder einem Mikrofon stehe „kann leicht etwas Falsches herauskommen“. Er müsse aber richtig stellen: „Es geht uns sehr wohl etwas an, wenn der Scheich in Abu Dhabi foltert.“ Demokratie bestehe wesentlich im Hinsehen, nicht im Wegsehen.

Mesner Johann Mayer begrüßte die Erklärungen von Pfarrer Burgey. „Es ist schwierig für den einfachen Bürger die Sachverhalten zu erfassen und zu verstehen.“ Aus diesem Grund sei die „aufklärende, sachliche Predigt“ des Pfarrers sehr hilfreich gewesen. Die Rede habe „den Horizont erweitert“ – schließlich solle und könne man sich nicht auf das Gerede anderer verlassen. (xb/ee)

ZDF Heute Journal Germany 10.May. 2009 , Report Torture Issa bin Zayed Al Nahyan

German ZDF Heute Journal May 10, 2009 TV Report about the Torture Video Issa Nahyan

ZDF Heute Journal Germany 10.May. 2009 , Report Torture Issa bin Zayed Al Nahyan

UAE ‘torture’ case seen as critical test of justice

source FinancialTimes  May 16.2009 by Andrew England Abu Dhabi  and Simeon Kerr in Dubai

The footage begins with an assault rifle allegedly being fired by a member of the United Arab Emirates’ ruling family. Bullets throw up clouds of sand as they smash into the desert, inches from a cowering Afghan grain trader.

It moves on to the Afghan being beaten with a cattle prod and a plank of wood, and concludes with a 4×4 vehicle being driven over his battered body.

The video lasts just minutes and was recorded more than three years ago. But, for the UAE, an oil-rich nation desperate to hold itself up as a model international business hub, it has thrown up a critical test.

The man alleged to have carried out the assault in the so-called “torture video” is Sheikh Issa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a half-brother of the UAE’s president and of the ruler of Abu Dhabi, the capital and wealthiest of the seven city states that make up the emirates.

In the past, scandals involving the Gulf’s large ruling families were dealt with in-house and its members were seen to be above the law and almost any form of public scrutiny.

But this time it is different. The video has been leaked, broadcast by American television, posted on the internet and widely distributed to politicians in the US, a key ally with which the UAE is hoping to negotiate a deal on civilian nuclear trade.

In the wake of the international outcry, Abu Dhabi authorities announced that they had detained Sheikh Issa and launched a criminal investigation into the allegations, the first move of its kind in the UAE.

With the world’s eyes increasingly on the oil nations of the Gulf, image-conscious Abu Dhabi appears to have accepted that it had no choice but to act amid the scrutiny.

“The UAE is clear on its desire to be global and be measured by best of international standards,” says Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, a political scientist at Emirates University. “And if it wants to measure itself with the best of international standards, it has to apply it across the board.”

In recent years the UAE has grown more engaged with the outside world and has moved to quell international censure. It has reimbursed child camel jockeys, improved labour rights and worked out principles for sovereign wealth funds to follow.

Dubai expatriates have long passed on stories of foreigners who ended up in jail – the “Hilton Jumeirah”, as some dubbed the city’s old prison – for crossing the wrong sheikh or wellconnected national, usually over a failed business deal.

Lawyers say some individuals can still pervert the course of justice by wielding influence before a trial. But once cases go to court, it is generally more difficult to influence the judiciary.

The decision to prosecute a former finance minister, Mohammed bin Kharbash, for alleged fraud at a state-linked real estate company, seems to back the proclamation last year by Dubai ruler’s that no one is above the law.

Most locals argued that Mr bin Kharbash was too powerful to face trial and the move sent shockwaves through the community. Another former minister had a month earlier been found guilty of embezzling assets from a business partner.

However, there are some foreign complainants in commercial cases who continue to argue that they are not getting a fair hearing.

With the case of Sheikh Issa – one of 19 sons of UAE founding father Sheikh Zayed – many will want to see if the judicial process produces tangible results.

Human Rights Watch argues that, while his detention is significant, “much more needs to be done to restore faith in the country’s police and justice system”.

But Mr Abdulla said it shows that no one – whether it’s “a regular man or superman or a ruling family man” – is above the law.

“We should not be in the habit of hiding our mistakes,” he adds. “The sooner we deal with them in a transparent way, the more we will measure up [as] a transparent and a civilised nation.”

Nakheel will pay only 65 percent of its debts

source KippReport

May 14, 2009
 
Dubai-based property developer Nakheel is offering consultants and contractors only 65 percent of what they are due, the New Civil Engineer reports.

“One of the offers on the table is for firms to get 65 percent of their consultancy fees, with the understanding that in doing so, they waive their legal rights [to further payment],” said Nelson Ogunshakin, CEO Association for Consultancy and Engineering.

Nakheel received an undisclosed cash injection from the Dubai government in early May, as part of Dubai’s $20 billion bailout plan.

According to the publication, Nakheel refused to comment on the issue.

What next is the question now being asked by investors as one of the Middle East’s largest property developers Nakheel

source The National UAE, May 12, 2009

ABU DHABI // Nakheel made headlines around the world with its Palm island projects and the planned Hong Kong-sized Waterfront development, while its advertising billboards dotted around Dubai asked “What next?”

What next is the question now being asked by investors as one of the Middle East’s largest property developers contends with a US$3.5 billion (Dh12.85bn) Islamic bond due in December, which helped fund projects that included the world’s biggest man-made islands.

How the sukuk is handled will serve as a key test for the credit ratings of state-controlled companies in the emirate and could affect their ability to raise money on international markets. It is also widely seen as an indicator of how Dubai will cope with its overall debt burden, estimated at $70bn.

“The clock is ticking, so something has to be done,” says Abdul Hussain, the chief executive of Mashreq Capital.

Nakheel issued the three-year sukuk in 2006, when the Dubai property market was still in a fever and the likelihood of a downturn seemed impossibly remote. The bond came with a profit rate – the Sharia-compliant equivalent of an interest rate – of 6.345 per cent per year. To ease its cash flow, however, Nakheel arranged to pay just half of that, or 3.1725 per cent, during the life of the bond. It would pay the rest at maturity, which seemed a sensible strategy given the rapid rise in property prices in Dubai and the healthy profits the company was booking.

As a further teaser, Nakheel added an option for sukuk holders to buy shares of Nakheel at a 5 per cent discount should it stage an initial public offering and become a listed company. It also backed up the sukuk with significant collateral: land and other assets worth more than twice the value of the sukuk.

At first, international investors eagerly snapped up the offering. Initially, just 30 per cent of the shares were sold to investors in the region, according to a source involved in the deal. The rest went to overseas investors.

Almost three years later, the economic climate could hardly be more different and Nakheel, like many other companies in Dubai, is busy working out how to settle its debts amicably while continuing to build and invest. The company recently undertook a round of cost-cutting and is said to be asking its contractors to take discounts on payments due to them. A source at a building contractor in Dubai that has worked on a number of Nakheel projects said all construction companies associated with the company’s Waterfont development had been asked to take discounts ranging between 30 and 40 per cent.

Yet among the many ways in which Nakheel must cope with the changing economic tides, its $3.5bn sukuk probably ranks as the most significant – and most urgent. The uncertainty surrounding the sukuk has caused its price to rise and tumble rapidly. It was recently trading at a heavy discount, with a yield of about 58 per cent. Low prices and high yields mean investors demand to be compensated with a high return for taking an increased risk that their money may not be paid back in full. “The market obviously believes there is a significant risk of some form of restructuring,” Mr Hussain says. “Otherwise you wouldn’t be able to earn a 50 per cent yield. We are now waiting to hear what sorts of strategies are going to be put in place.”

Nakheel has a range of options for the sukuk, analysts say. It may simply pay off investors in full using an injection of funds from the Dubai Government, received as part of the first instalment in a planned $20bn bond programme. Nakheel said recently it was receiving assistance under the programme.

It could also sell part of itself to a private equity firm in order to raise some of the cash. Analysts have suggested that money raised from a possible sale of part of DP World to a private equity firm could be redirected through Dubai World – which owns both DP World and Nakheel – to help pay off the sukuk. Abraaj Capital, a buyout firm managing $6bn in assets, has approached Dubai World about acquiring a “significant minority stake” in DP World, a source with knowledge of the discussions said earlier this week.

Nakheel could also go to banks for loans to refinance part of the sukuk, or it could try to buy back a chunk of the Islamic bond by extending a tender offer to existing owners.

Another option is for Nakheel to partially restructure the sukuk, giving most of investors’ money back and converting the rest of the debt into a new longer-term loan. This route could also involve one or both of Nakheel’s other sukuk, which are smaller and due in 2010 and 2011.

Rumours of such a restructuring began to surface about a month ago, when Nakheel hired a market intelligence firm to identify the owners of its sukuk shares. Many investors saw this as an indication that the company was trying to find out what portion of the sukuk was owned by investors who would be sympathetic to an attempt to restructure.

The possibility of a restructuring led Standard & Poor’s, a major ratings agency, to put numerous Dubai companies on watch for a credit downgrade.

A Nakheel spokeswoman said in a statement that “a number of options” were currently on the table and declined to elaborate. Bankers said that a restructuring that left investors with a loss was probably Nakheel’s least desirable option, aside from a fully fledged default. If Nakheel were to allow many of its investors to take losses, they said, the cost of raising money in the future – for Nakheel and other government-linked companies in the UAE and the broader GCC – might go up.

“Nakheel has a large volume of public debt, much of it held by international investors, so a lot is at stake regarding international credibility of Dubai corporates that will likely at some point seek to borrow again in the global capital markets,” says Khalid Howladar, a vice president and senior credit officer for structured and Islamic finance at Moody’s, another ratings agency.

What seems most likely, investors and observers say, is a combination of some of these options. Nakheel may buy back some of the sukuk shares using subsidy money, for example, offering an above-market price for them. If some investors are unwilling to sell, the company could then try to refinance a portion of the debt with bank loans and sell some of its equity to a private equity firm.

Bobby Sarkar, an analyst at Al Mal Capital in Dubai, believes Nakheel is also considering selling some of its assets, such as its stake in the Atlantis Hotel on the Palm Jumeirah and properties in Discovery Gardens, both in Dubai. “They are looking at a combination of asset sales, some inflow from the Government, some restructuring and a partial sale to Abraaj.”

Whatever options it chooses, a source familiar with the sukuk says, a full default or even a serious restructuring is highly unlikely, given the value of the collateral that Nakheel has provided and the negative message such a move would send to international markets.

Moreover, Dubai’s government-linked companies have so far succeeded in paying off or refinancing large loans and bonds as they come due. In February, for example, Borse Dubai – the company that owns Nasdaq Dubai and the Dubai Financial Market – was able to refinance a $3.4bn bank loan, albeit with major help from local sources of funding.

Last month, the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority refinanced a $2.2bn Islamic loan with 18 international, regional and local banks.

Nasser al Shaikh, the director general of the Dubai Department of Finance, said a week later there was a “shift in the overall mood” in the international credit markets when it came to Dubai’s debt.

Nakheel confirms receiving funds

source Business24/7

Nakheel has started receiving funds from Dubai Government, confirmed its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Chris O’Donnell in an exclusive interview with Emirates Business. However when asked if the figure stood at Dh2 billion, the chief executive said: “The actual figure is confidential and so are all the other details. But yes, Nakheel is receiving funds.”

The developer is also talking to its contractors and re-negotiating payments plans and contracts. “Yes, we are trying to help them and ourselves through our current situation. We are at the stage of commercial settlements and negotiations. Rather than detail on percentages, it is a true statement to say that construction costs are falling and there is definitely a reduction,” said O’Donnell.

“Part of our obligation to our customers is to ensure that we get them the best buildings. Hence, we are talking to our contractors to get cost-effective solutions.”

O’Donnell said the developer does not issue credit notes and warned investors against any such fraud. “When the market recovers, the focus will be on people buying serviced land. Hence, the built form in Nakheel’s projects is definitely going to be linked to the provisions of infrastructure, which will be on an incremental basis,” he added. Speaking about the latest on the status of Nakheel projects, O’Donnel said that work on Palm Jebel Ali has slowed down while the Palm Deira and the Universe projects are on hold.

However, construction on Jumeirah Village and Al Furjan is progressing, he said.

Nakheel Jumeirah Palm home prices hit new three-year low – Dubai May 2009

source ArabianBusiness

House prices on Nakheel’s Palm Jumeirah project have fallen below AED800 per square foot for the first time in over three years – and nearly 60 percent down in the past five months, Arabian Business can reveal.

Agents are now looking to offload three bedroom apartments covering 2,184 square foot for just AED1.7 million, representing only AED778 per square foot.

And experts suggest even that figure could fall further.

“The 1.7m (dirham) is the listed price, and we all know that nobody is selling for a listed price. There are people who may be willing to take even 1.5million, which would less than 700dhs per square foot,” said one agent.

Other experts suggest that the continued falls are linked to the exchange rate between the pound and dirham.

“With the rate have fallen to around five dirhams to the pound, landlords based in the UK can afford to take nearly 30% less than they were asking based on last year’s rate and still end up with the same amount of sterling in their bank. That factor is definitely pushing the market down more,” said the agent.

The decline in sale prices comes as a new rental index for Dubai to be published this week will show a 30 percent fall in rents since March for Palm Jumeirah villas.

The Landmark Advisory index is expected to show declines in other residential hotspots in Dubai such as apartments in Jumeirah Beach Residence (JBR) and townhouses in the Springs – with rental falls of eight percent compared to Landmark’s last index.

“Since our last price map published at the end of March, we’ve seen a shift towards leasing. Owners are unable to sell their units and they are unwilling to lower their prices. They are adjusting their investment horizons and turning to leasing to generate revenue,” said Jesse Downs, director of research at Landmark Advisory, the consultancy division of Landmark Properties.

RERA – Dubai mulls cancellation of 27 projects

source ArabianBusiness

Dubai is considering cancelling 27 projects, the head of its real estate regulator said on Monday, as the emirate’s property market slumps in the global downturn.

A decision whether to cancel or not would be made by the end of the month, said Marwan bin Ghalita, the head of the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA).

“The decision has not been done. They are projects all over Dubai – third party projects (sub developers),” he said.

Earlier this year, Ghalita said he believed 25 percent of projects will be cancelled in Dubai as a result of the global economic slowdown.

“It’s almost the same,” he said when asked if that figure had changed. The Dubai Land Department and RERA set up a committee last week to cancel projects in the emirate that are not feasible.

German economics minister meets UAE interior minister

source

Abu Dhabi

German Economics Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg said Sunday that the United Arab Emirates government would soon publish the results of an investigation into a torture case in which a member of the emirate’s ruling family has been implicated.

Guttenberg said he was told this in talks with UAE Interior Minister Shaikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

The Berlin minister said that the Emirates’ government had an interest in assuring that the country’s rule of law reputation is not damaged. Guttenberg said he had made a point of bringing the case up for discussion.

Read more: http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/europe/news/article_1476195.php/German_economics_minister_meets_UAE_interior_minister_#ixzz0F94ZJHTe&B

Comment of the Day – RERA Dubai

by Joe May 10, 2008

You are not alone there. Probably there are thousands of investors in this moment who invest in off plan property and now balancing on the edge of precipice.

What is very sad that authority doesn’t do their job. They have established RERA and Laws around but RERA does not act in accordance with responsibility that they have. By their passiveness they actually support developers to make with investors what every developer would like. But this is like huge boomerang that will devastatingly  hit entire Dubai project.

I am simply stunned how authority is looking peacefully while full crowded ship sinking in front of their eyes.
By Law No 9 it is evident that RERA would like to help developer rather than helping investors. Where will be our investment place after Law No.9 just God knows.

What will be rules and conditions to cancel project will probably depends on color of skin, distance from Sheikhs, residency, are the owner  of Developer  domestic or stranger etc.

And do you think that investors are asked to participate in panel? Or when composing rules for categorize project to what “Sliding Scale” to place it?

I think that without pressing from outside they will still think that they can do whatever they would like and manipulate with foolish investors as much as they want.

UAE is not alone in the Earth. Their life depends on world community. Without respect to all of us who wanted to participate in Dubai story they do not have future.

One lesson was recently reached UAE by freezing permission for using nuclear power for civil purposes caused by incident from royal family.

I think that there has to be more lessons if outside investors are going to lose their invested money. We have to ask our government to protect our interest in Dubai.

Dubai Lawyer Samir Jafaar: ‘Ex-UAE Minister of State Had No Intention to Cheat’

source KhaleejTimes by Zawya

08 May 2009

DUBAI

The verdict in the fraud case filed against former UAE Minister of State Dr Khalifa Bakhit Al Falasi will be pronounced on May 28 by the Court of Appeals.

Both defence lawyers of the ex-minister, his son and the other two defendants, Samir Jaafar and Abdelmonem Suwaidan, stressed in their arguments that the former minister did not swindle the Lebanese businesswoman (the plaintiff). They pleaded that she was aware of the legal status of both her late brother and Dr Al Falasi before she signed the disputed settlement bond in which she relinquished her 49 per cent shares in the Global Information Technology Company that she inherited from her brother.

“The audit reports and financial and budget statements of the company are some of the evidence that she was aware of the business relationship between the minister and her brother,” Jaafar said. “What sustains our pleas is that my client (the ex-minister) was running the information company in due course when the plaintiff’s brother was in the US for health reasons. Dr Al Falasi signed personal banking security bonds which is a clear revelation of his good intentions,” counsel Jaafar pleaded.

Jaafar added, “In the documents we had access to, there was one particular contract signed by the ex-minister and the plaintiff’s brother saying that the latter collected a monthly salary of Dh2,000. This proves that my client is a real partner in the company.”

Jaafar pointed out that the plaintiff collected Dh28 million for her part of the family shares which does not mean that she was victim of cheating.

The 51-year-old ex-minister pleaded not guilty to the charge of cheating the Lebanese businesswoman to unlawfully take the Global Information Technology Company, she inherited from her brother by pretending he was a partner with 51 per cent of the shares, rather than a paid sponsor.

He pleaded not guilty to the fraud and breach of trust charges. His son, the American director general of the company and the Indian financial manager also pleaded not guilty to the charge of criminal complicity in defrauding the plaintiff.

The Court of Misdemeanours awarded on February 23 the former minister two years in jail, as he was found guilty of fraud. Dr Al Felasi was acquitted of the charge of breach of trust.

Defence lawyer Jaafar also highlighted in his pleas a letter from the Economic Department proving that Dr Al Falasi was the original owner of the company since 1995 and that late brother joined in as a shareholder in 1996.  The former minister’s 26-year-old son was acquitted in February from the criminal complicity charge.

The company’s director general and the financial manager were awarded two years in jail each for assisting in swindling the plaintiff. They would be deported after serving their jail terms, the court ordered. The civil case was referred to the relevant court whereas the plaintiff is claiming Dh500 million in compensation.

The Lebanese woman is also prosecuting the former minister for hiding from her the fact that her late brother was investing in a real estate in Al Qusais area.

Royal Sheikh Issa Zayed Al Nahyan Detained by UAE Over Torture Tape Allegations

source ABC News 08, May 2009

A member of the royal family in the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Issa bin Zayed al Nahyan, has been “detained” in Abu Dhabi by authorities investigating a chilling videotape that shows him torturing an Afghan grain dealer, according to officials in Washington.

UAE officials told American diplomats the Sheikh was put under “house arrest” this week and prevented from leaving the country as the UAE Ministry of Justice conducts a criminal investigation of the incidents on the videotape, the officials said.

The 45-minute torture tape, first broadcast on ABC News Nightline two weeks ago, shows the Sheikh, the brother of the UAE crown prince, beating his victim with an electric cattle prod and a wooden plank with protruding nails. Men in police uniform are seen on the tape restraining the victim, who has sand shoved down his throat and is later repeatedly run over by a Mercedes Benz SUV driven by the Sheikh.

‘Egypt’s Madoff’ faces trial in UAE

source TheNational

ABU DHABI // Nabil al Boushi, an Egyptian businessman sentenced in absentia to 15 years in jail in his home country after he was convicted of fraud, will have to stand trial in Dubai before any thought can be given to his extradition, the Ministry of Justice said yesterday.

Four charged with fraud in UAE-Europe VAT case

source The National

RERA Dubai – Panel to identify unviable projects for cancellation

source Business24-7

Dubai Thursday, May 07, 2009

The Dubai Land Department and the Real Estate Regulatory Agency (Rera) have set up a committee that will decide on cancellation of “unviable” projects, senior department officials said yesterday.

Addressing an investors’ meeting, officials said a committee has been formed to study and analyse non-feasible projects.

“It is a tedious task and requires a lot of paper work. But the committee has been created to address the issue,” a senior official said.

Ludmila Yamalova, Partner, Mac Davidson Legal Consultants, who was present at the meeting, told Emirates Business that officials admitted project cancellations were not under their purview earlier, but amendments to Law No13 regulating the Interim Real Estate Register in Dubai now allows them to cancel projects that they deem not feasible.

In February, Rera Chief Executive Officer Marwan bin Ghalita said he believes 25 per cent of the projects will be cancelled, as developers did not start them or don’t have an intention to begin. However, he could not be reached for comment on the number of developers requesting cancellation.

The officials further told investors that the detailed regulations for Article 11 of Law No13, which lays down the terms for cancellations of “off plan” properties, will be announced soon and will explain terms such as “beyond developers control” in detail.

According to Yamalova, the authorities said developers will no longer be allowed to retain any money on reselling of units on termination of investors’ contract.

“Developers will no longer have any incentive to cancel contracts, as the money received on the resold unit will have to be deposited with the trust account of the Land Department,” she added.

Besides, Rera is also ensuring all amended payment schedules from developers need to be approved by them, with it planning to upload all payment plans on their website.

According to Rera statistics, 31,003 and 43,880 units will enter the market in 2009 and 2010, respectively.

However, it believes 20 per cent of residential units may not enter the market this year.

In February, it said the number of developers has come down from about 870 to 427.

Torture-tape Gulf prince accused of 25 other attacks

source Guardian UK

New York, Sunday 3 May 2009

US lawyers claim they have videos implicating Abu Dhabi royal in more cases of torture, a week after outcry over his assaults on Afghan businessman.

“I have more than two hours of video footage showing Sheikh Issa’s involvement in the torture of more than 25 people,” wrote Texas-based lawyer Anthony Buzbee in a letter obtained by the Observer.

read the full story Link

Off plan sales in Dubai ‘practically non-existent’

source ArabianBusiness May 03, 2009

Off-plan property sales in Dubai are “practically non-existent”, according to a new report released this week.

“State of the Market 2009”, published by Better Homes and Investment Boutique, warns that “off plan sales across the emirate are practically non-existent, and finished product is in demand mostly by end-users.”

The report adds that “there is still substantial room for price depression in order to meet true affordability levels.”

However, on a more positive footing, it suggests that “by the last quarter of 2009 prices are expected to hit a trough and the market is expected to gradually stabilise.”

The 100-page report was compiled over the past three months, and contains detailed analysis of the residential, commercial, retail and hospitality sectors.

“The report shows that we are going through very challenging times, where prices, targets and ambitions will have to be dramatically altered. This is a painful process,” said Better Homes managing director, Ryan Mahoney.

Confusion over RERA Rental Index

source 7Days

A new feature of the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) web site caused confusion over the expected Rental Index update today, as it seemed to indicate a fall of up to 50 per cent in rental rates.

The new ‘Rental Increase Calculator’ on the web site showed significantly lower rents across Dubai, in what many media reported as an indicator of the updated version of the Rental Index, expected before the end of April.

However, a spokesperson from RERA told 7DAYS that the authority was still working on the index and there was no official update as yet.

The ‘Rental Increase Calculator’ on the web site today showed that a three-bedroom villa in the Springs would now be priced at between dhs140,000 and dhs160,000 a year down by up to 50 per cent from the previous guideline of dhs250,000 to dhs280,000.

A studio apartment in Dubai Marina had fallen to dhs65,000 to dhs70,000 from dhs80,000 to dhs90,000, which would be a discount of up to 28 per cent, while a two-bedroom apartment in Discovery Gardens fell up to 37 per cent, from dhs130,000 to dhs145,000, to dhs90,000 to dhs125,000.

The calculator only recommends any increase in rent if the tenant is paying from ten per cent or more below the low end of these ranges, and in that case, it gives the maximum rent increase as five per cent. In no scenario is the maximum rent increase more than 20 per cent.

RERA had said it would release an updated version of the index first released in January, which was criticised at the time for showing prices nearer to 2008 peaks rather than prices impacted by the global economic slowdown.

The RERA spokesperson today could not confirm when the update would be released.

Go to  www.rpdubai.com

to see the ‘Rental Increase Calculator’

More tapes depicting Sheikh Issabin Zayed Al Nahyan torturing victims exist.

source CNN

WASHINGTON (CNN) — A videotape of a heinous torture session is delaying the ratification of a civil nuclear deal between the United Arab Emirates and the United States, senior U.S. officials familiar with the case said.

On Wednesday, an Abu Dhabi government agency issued a statement deploring the video and promising a full investigation.

“The Government of Abu Dhabi unequivocally condemns the actions depicted on the video and will conduct a comprehensive review of the matter immediately,” said the statement issued by the Judicial Department’s Human Rights Office, which promised to make its findings public.

Dubai contractors still concerned over payments

source Reuters

GOVERNMENT OBLIGATIONS

Dubai’s government said on Monday it would continue to meet all its contractual obligations, including to contractors, and would not limit the number of construction firms licensed to operate in the emirate.

Emaar Properties EMAR.DU, in which the state is the largest stake holder, said payments for contractors and consultants were based on a credit cycle agreed with each firm.

“All payments that meet the criteria have been honoured and will continue to be cleared, in line with our contractual agreements,” Emaar said in a statement emailed to Reuters.

State-owned Nakheel declined to comment. no one at Dubai Properties and Sama Dubai were not immediately available for comment.

London-based MEED has reported that contractors who are owed money would not be paid for work they have carried out on Dubai government-backed schemes as the emirate will only settle debts with contractors it wishes to work with in future.

The government denied the MEED report but said it would not decide how firms that had received aid would use the funds.

“We are still waiting for payments from a government-linked firm,” a source at an international contracting firm said. “I am expecting a call from them in the next few days … until we speak to them I don’t know what the situation is for us.”

Nasser al-Shaikh, the head of Dubai’s department of finance, said last week the government would not reveal the names of the firms receiving support from the first bond proceeds, although key beneficiaries were developers and companies in which Dubai’s government holds some ownership stake.  Continued…

Schon Properties Dubai – Back in the Headlines with negative News

source Xpress4Me

Investors suffer due to massive delay in project Dubai Lagoons

Anita Henry, a British teacher who has invested in a one-bedroom apartment at Dubai Lagoons, now faces a double whammy. So does Purvi Beri, an Indian advertising executive, and many other investors.

The units they bought are delayed for two years and the developer, Schon Properties, is “stonewalling” them.

“It now costs me Dh8,000 per month to rent, as they have delayed this build,” said Henry. “Now, they have advised me of a December 2010 completion – how disgusting is that?”

She said her one-bedroom unit at Dubai Lagoons – a 52-building project at the Dubai Investments Park (DIP) – was scheduled for a June 2008 handover.

“They have no intention of compensating anyone. I had planned my kids’ schooling around this,” she said.

Major payment

“In 2007, I sold my house in the UK and invested that money in a one-bedroom unit at Dubai Lagoons for Dh480,000,” said Henry, who has paid more than 63 per cent of the property price.

Purvi Beri is in the same bind due to the delay. “I am stuck. I took out a bank loan for Dh250,000 to be able to buy this unit. I sold property in India to survive and take care of my son’s fees. Since my property has not been handed over as promised, I was forced to move to my sister’s place. Now, the developers are asking me to pay more, but I’m not going to because the construction hasn’t even happened.”

Asher Schon, Vice-President of Schon Properties, said, “The project has been set back a little, due to numerous reasons,” he said.

“Firstly, the expansion of the two-lane road into a six-lane highway took out about 40 metres off our plot. Secondly, there was an internal feud between partners of our first contractor so we replaced them. We negotiated with the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), who were cooperative. We are also working with investors to move them into zones that will be completed earlier,” said Schon.

 

Dubai Financial Crisis – Is Nakheel not paying?

source Kippreport

According to a media report, the property developer owes UK engineering firms more than $290 million. Nakheel has declined to comment.

A report in the UK-based magazine New Civil Engineer quotes analysts as saying that real estate developer Nakheel has not paid debts amounting to more than $290 million. The money is owed to engineering companies in the UK such as Atkins, Mouchel, Scott Wilson and WSP.

Nakheel has declined to comment, saying only that it “doesn’t disclose confidential information about supplier contracts.”

Earlier this month, Atkins revealed that delays in payment for its Middle-Eastern projects had forced the company to use around $36 million of its own cash to keep operations running over the past three months. “We expect that cash collection will remain challenging for at least the next few months,” the company said.

According to the report in New Civil Engineer, WSP also released a statement recently, stating that it was making “appropriate and prudent provisions in respect of potential impairment of trade receivables and unbilled amounts due on contracts” in the Middle East.

Like most developers in the region, and around the world, Nakheel has been hit hard by the financial crisis. Last month it announced that its $3 billion mall expansion program would be delayed by 12 months.

In February this year, it indefinitely delayed the start of construction of the Worlds of Discovery theme park project. The development, which will include four water theme parks, is being undertaken in partnership with the US-based Busch Entertainment Corporation.

In January, the developer announced that it would halt work on its one kilometer tall tower, the Nakheel Harbour & Tower, for a year. And in December last year, Nakheel confirmed that work on the Trump International Hotel and Tower in Palm Jumeirah had stopped, and that the project would be delayed indefinitely. It also postponed work on Frond N villas, Gateway Towers and The Universe. In November, the developer laid off 15 percent of its workforce – 500 employees.

Around the world, real estate has been one of the sectors hit hardest by the financial crisis. Deutsche Bank estimates that in the US, up to half of the $1.3 trillion in commercial property loans dues for repayment by 2013 could be ineligible for refinancing – a potential time bomb for developers, many of whom will not be able to repay the debt.

Being a government-owned company, Nakheel is eligible for a slice of the $10 billion raised by the Dubai government through a sale of bonds to the UAE Central Bank. Earlier this week, Nasser al-Shaikh, director general of Dubai Department of Finance, said that more than half of the $10 billion has been distributed to government-owned firms. He did not disclose names, but said the situation at these companies had improved. “All of the state-linked real estate developers have already started paying their bills,” he told Dubai Eye radio station.

UAE laws translated into English

source TheNational

ABU DHABI // In a major step towards improving transparency in the legal system, the Ministry of Justice yesterday announced that every federal law passed since the UAE’s founding in 1971 has been translated into English and will soon be available online.

The ministry has also begun translating 1,500 federal court decisions, 500 international treaties signed by the UAE and 2,000 official fatwas issued by UAE muftis, to create a centralised, easily accessible body of case law and statutes in both Arabic and English.

The Government says the translations will give legal practitioners, businesses and scholars unprecedented access to the country’s lawbooks. The aim is to improve understanding of the UAE’s laws and legal system internationally, as well as foster the transparency sought by international companies and investors.

“There are more people that speak English than Arabic in the UAE and our goal is to make the laws available to them,” said Abdulla al Majid, the Minister’s Adviser and the director of the translation project.

All the documents will be posted online at www.elaws.gov.ae

The website will initially be free for public access for three months, but the ministry is contemplating eventually charging users a subscription fee.

We are looking for feedback at this stage from the public to wage which direction we will go. We are considering creating different levels of memberships, such as academics and corporations,” Mr al Majid said.

More than 80 people working in the US, Lebanon and the UAE, including various ministries and courts, have worked on the project for two years so far.

“This is a three-step programme. First we had to gather all the relevant laws, then put them on the website in Arabic and then translate them in an ongoing programme,” Mr al Majid said.

The programme also aims to centralise the federal laws, treaties and fatwas and decisions taken by the Federal Supreme Court.

“Our goal was to get every single law created and amended since 1973,” Mr al Majid said.

Although the country was founded in 1971 with the passage of the Constitution, the first federal laws were not passed for another two years.

“This is clearly a wealth of information that for the first time is available to the public directly from the Ministry of Justice and not from a law firm,” Mr al Majid said.

“The best feature about this is the search engine which allows you to find even one word amid a sea of legal documents. That changes the face of research for academics, lawyers, judges, businesses and the public. You can imagine the kind of impact this will have on the overall justice system.”

The English translations are just the beginning, Mr al Majid said.

“We are also considering translating them into other languages, and translating specific laws within each emirate. At this point our focus is on English. This opens new doors for us and boosts our credibility further.”

He said the UAE’s diverse population meant that English had become the language of business. The project “will encourage people to learn more about our values and law even from their own countries before they come here,” Mr al Majid added.

Several sources have already translated many UAE laws.

The most prominent effort has been undertaken by a company called Affinitext, which has translated more than 3,000 laws and made them available in Arabic and English on the internet for specialised users.

The project was initially an undertaking for DLA Piper, one of the largest law firms.

“There are over 3,000 laws with no central repository,” said Graham Thomson, founder of Affinitext.

“Each law resides with a different area: free zones, ministries and so on. To collate just the Arabic is a major logistic challenge. Then translating it, then putting it on the best available programme on the internet,” He said.

However, the translations by Affinitext are available online for a license fee for companies and law firms, and are not meant for private use.

Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum: “The life-span of lies is always short.”

source EmiratesBusiness24/7
The UAE has acted as a cohesive federation to face the global financial meltdown with a fast, well-thought-out response and has overcome the crisis with the least amount of losses, the nation’s Vice-President and Prime Minister said yesterday, adding that “the worst is already behind us”.

In his first large-scale online interaction with the media, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, said categorically the nation’s economy would post positive growth this year and added: “I can safely say that we have succeeded in containing the risks of the global financial crisis in a record time.”

In response to a question by Emirates Business, Sheikh Mohammed said the panic phase is now over: “Our position is far better than other countries, and encouraging economic indicators have just started to emerge.

“Enhanced liquidity levels across the banking sector, banks’ resumption of credit operations and increased number of investors eager to seize investment opportunities in the realty and financial markets are among the many positive and encouraging indicators,” he said.

“I believe that no preventive measures, neither in the UAE nor any other country in the world, would have provided the desired immunity from the ramifications of the global financial meltdown.

“The UAE’s solid economic structure, efficient establishments, adoption of a balanced model of conservative banking policies and liberal economic approach were the key elements that enhanced the country’s ability to survive the negative implications of the global crisis and prevented any case of bankruptcy in any of the country’s banks or major corporations,” he said.

“The impact of the crisis on our economy was significant during the last quarter of 2008, yet it was not as harsh as on other economies.”

He took on critical international media reports that “weave rumours and negative speculation” saying: “We have been very transparent with all measures over the past few months to counter the impact of the global financial crisis. The life-span of lies is always short.”

In what can be termed a benchmark for transparency, he also commented on diverse issues including human rights, federalism, healthcare, education, women’s empowerment and the welfare of SMEs.

Sheikh Mohammed’s interaction took place through his website, www.uaepm.ae, where he hoped “my responses will generate positive discussion about the issues and values that Dubai and the UAE care about… Dubai is not only a catalyst of change; it is an exemplar of change.”

Thai ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra leave Dubai for Africa

source Zawya

DUBAI, Apr 16, 2009 (AFP) – Exiled former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has decided to leave Dubai for an undisclosed destination in Africa despite the cancellation of his passport, local newspaper 7Days reported.

A spokesman for the former Thai strongman, who faces an arrest warrant in his home country, told the daily: “The government can say what it wants but it will not stop us. Every Thai has the right to a passport which cannot simply be cancelled.”

Thailand revoked Thaksin’s passport after his supporters forced the cancellation of an Asian summit at the weekend, but Nicaragua said on Wednesday it has granted a diplomatic passport to the fugitive former leader.

Thaksin is to be accredited as an ambassador with a “special mission” to help bring investment to the country, the Nicaraguan government said in a statement.

7Days said Thaksin had been due to leave Dubai late on Wednesday.

“We are going somewhere in Africa. Obviously I cannot say where,” the spokesman told the newspaper, adding that Thaksin expected foreign countries still to accept his Thai passport, despite its cancellation by Bangkok.

Thaksin was ousted in a military coup in 2006 and lives in exile to avoid a two-year jail term for corruption. He has made a series of speeches to his supporters in Thailand in recent weeks calling for a “revolution.”

A Thai court on Tuesday issued an arrest warrant for the former PM and 12 associates, accusing them of having fomented demonstrations in recent days which have left two people dead and 123 wounded in Bangkok.

Protestors loyal to Thaksin, known as “Red Shirts” because of their trademark attire, say his allies were unlawfully pushed from power last year and they want current premier Abhisit Vejjajiva to step down and hold fresh elections.

Moscow Says Dubai Keeping Silent on Yamadayev Attack

source MoscowTimes

Prosecutor General Yury Chaika said Monday that his office was in the dark about whether Chechen strongman Sulim Yamadayev was killed last month and whether Dubai police wanted to arrest State Duma Deputy Adam Delimkhanov as the suspected mastermind.

Chaika’s comments raised questions about the level of cooperation between the United Arab Emirates and Russia in the attack on Yamadayev in Dubai on March 28.

Chaika told reporters that the Prosecutor General’s Office has had no contacts with Dubai authorities over the attack. “All exchange of information goes through the Foreign Ministry,” he said, RIA-Novosti reported.

Russia’s consul in Dubai, Sergei Krasnogor, said Monday that the Foreign Ministry in the United Arab Emirates has kept quiet about the Yamadayev case. “We sent a note to the Foreign Ministry of the United Arab Emirates more than a week ago,” he told RIA-Novosti. Russian diplomats have not received a reply, he said.

Dubai police chief Dhahi Khalfan Tamim has said two men are being held in connection with the attack, and international warrants will be issued for four others, including Delimkhanov. Delimkhanov has denied complicity.

Yamadayev’s younger brother, Isa, maintained in an interview published Monday that Sulim was alive and being protected by Dubai police. He said his brother was recovering from injuries and would soon return to Russia, Moskovsky Komsomolets reported.

Damac back in the headlines – Property developer`s victims surface Cairo

source zawya

13 April 2009
JEDDAH: The Damac Properties, a Dubai-based developer that has not been doing well in the face of the current global financial crisis, is caught in a new row involving its staggering real estate projects in Egypt after allegedly victimizing a number of investors in the Kingdom, Al-Madinah newspaper reported yesterday.

According to the daily, more than 170 Saudis and expatriates were recently discovered to have bought housing units in the company’s defaulting Hydepark project in the Egyptian capital Cairo.

The newspaper said the victims of the Cairo project were in addition to those who invested money in the company’s Al-Jawhara Tower project on the Jeddah Corniche.

Units in this prestigious project were sold to Saudi homebuyers, who were impressed by the company’s “unparalleled standards” of architectural detailing and interior design.

The newspaper said all attempts to obtain a comment from the company on the claims of the investors have so far failed. Hussain Sajwani, the company’s CEO, and its media relations manager had not been returning calls.

Al-Madinah quoted an official source at Damac, who did not want to be named, as saying that the leadership of the company had been evading questions from journalists because it did not want its problems to be publicized.

“This would help the company exert more pressure on its foreign and local investors,” the source added.

According to the newspaper, the questions the company was evading to answer included: When would the actual implementation of the projects start? When will the funds be reimbursed if the projects were not executed? How much would be the compensation for the customers?

Al-Madinah said the company was putting pressure on investors to pay their remaining installments in the projects on time saying unless they pay up it would take action on them for breach of contract.

The contract gives the company the right to abrogate the agreements with its buyers without any prior notice if they fail to pay rest of the installments.

“Care should also be taken not to inhale the air after a wave hits the shoreline. This can prove hazardous to health” – Two beaches in Dubai closed as traces of Red Tide surfaces

Source Zawya – GulfNews

06 April 2009
Dubai: Beaches near Burj Al Arab and another one located close to the Umm Suqeim Park have been closed by the Dubai Municipality as traces of Red Tide in these two beaches have surfaced again.

Mohammad Abdul Rehman Hassan, the head of the marine environment and wildlife section, told Gulf News that there were no traces of Red Tide found on Dubai shores in the morning during water testing.

Red tide is the result of an influx of a type of algal bloom; it is so named because it turns the water a reddish colour.

“They have surfaced again and so we have decided to close the beaches to ensure the safety of beachgoers. People are advised not to venture into these two beaches. They should make no contact with the water, nor consume the dead fishes that are washed ashore. Care should also be taken not to inhale the air after a wave hits the shoreline. This can prove hazardous to health,” he said.

Hassan did not rule out the possibility of shutting down more beaches if the Red Tide continues to frequent the area.

Dirty money fears

source 7days.ae

The UAE is vulnerable to money laundering through smuggling, wire transfers, trade fraud, real estate and the gold and diamond trade, the US State Department has said in an annual report.

However, the report praised the UAE and Dubai governments’ efforts to cut down on money laundering, especially in the real estate and diamond industries.

The State Department’s Money Laundering and Financial Crimes report, which monitors countries around the world, said the UAE’s robust economic development and political stability “may leave the country susceptible to possible money laundering activities”.

“Given the country’s proximity to Afghanistan, where most of the world’s opium is produced, narcotics traffickers are increasingly reported to be attracted to the UAE’s financial centres,” it said.

“Other money laundering vulnerabilities in the UAE include hawala, (small wire transfer centres), trade fraud, smuggling, the real estate boom, and the misuse of the international gold and diamond trade.”

The report said hawala centres, where thousands of ex-pats would go to wire money home, are still likely to be the UAE’s biggest money laundering weakness.

While noting that Dubai is vulnerable to money laundering through its gold and diamond business, the report noted that the UAE has been a participant in the Kimberley Process certification scheme for rough diamonds since 2002, which helps cut down diamond imports from war zones.

Hossam Mohammad Abd El-Rahman, a money laundering expert with Allied Compliance Consultants in Dubai, said that the UAE Central Bank has done a lot of work to cut down on financial crimes.

El-Rahman, who has worked closely with the UAE and Dubai governments, said that the Central Bank had made “big improvements” in the laws in recent years and made it much more difficult to launder illegally-obtained money.

Last August, the Central Bank ordered financial institutions to register the details of anyone wiring or changing as little as dhs2,000 to stop money laundering.

Maryam Al Hashemi, the CEO of the Dubai Diamond Exchange, said Dubai has very strict standards for importation of diamonds and said there “can’t be any import or export of rough diamond shipments without being inspected and verified through official channels”. She went on to add that the exchange always cooperates with UN conflict diamond investigations.

Moody’s Investors Service downgraded the credit rating of Dubai’s Emaar Properties

source WallStreetJournal

Moody’s Investors Service downgraded the credit rating of Dubai’s Emaar Properties (EMAAR.AI), the Middle East largest developer,  to just above “junk” status due to its exposure to the emirate’s struggling property market.

Moody’s downgraded its ratings for Emaar and Dubai Holding Commercial Operations Group by one notch each, taking Emaar’s rating to Baa1 from A3, two notches above “junk”. The outlook for both companies is negative.

“The one-notch downgrade of both entities reflects the more severe fundamental strains facing their business models,” Philipp Lotter, Moody’s lead analyst for Gulf-based corporates, said in a statement.

The term “junk” is used for all bonds for Standard & Poors’ ratings below BBB and/or Moody’s ratings below Baa.

“I don’t think the downgrades have come as much of a surprise to the markets,” said Fahd Iqbal, an analyst at investment bank EFG-Hermes. “The downgrade will serve more to confirm investors’ existing negative view on Dubai, given its tough economic outlook for this year and next.”

Real estate firms such as Emaar, which sits at the heart of the Gulf region’s building boom, have been hit by the impact of the financial crisis both at home and overseas.

Dubai’s once-booming property market has slowed in recent months and home financing has evaporated, impacting Emaar’s sales and property prices.

Last month, Emaar was downgraded by S&P to BBB+ from A- with a negative outlook, taking the developer almost below investment grade.

Shares in the company that is 31% owned by Dubai’s government according to Zawya.com, closed flat at AED2.20 on the Dubai Financial Market Wednesday. The stock lost 85% of its value last year.

“Both companies are real estate master developers with hospitality businesses and are thus more immediately exposed to the Dubai real estate market,” Moody’s said.

Amid the downturn in the property market, many large developers have been scaling back projects to survive the downturn.

In February, a report by investment bank Morgan Stanley (MS) said the United Arab Emirates is delaying or canceling real-estate projects worth more than $260 billion. An earlier HSBC (HBC) report said Dubai is delaying or canceling almost 60 projects worth $75 billion.

BOND SUPPORT

Moody’s said it held off from downgrading the companies further because of Dubai’s recently announced bond program.

“The severity of potential rating actions….was moderated as a result of the supportive action by the federal government,” said Moody’s Lotter.

“We thus balance a severe deterioration in the economic prospects of Dubai with a now explicit reliance on federal assistance,” he said.

Dubai announced a $20-billion bond program in February, and said the federal government of the U.A.E. had fully subscribed half of it. The move allayed some fears that Dubai and government-owned companies would struggle to refinance debt obligations this year.

Moody’s said that although the bond “provided greater assurances to the market that explicit financial support from the federal government is forthcoming”, it also highlighted the emirate’s “vulnerability in the current global economic environment given its reliance on volatile sectors such as real estate, trade, financial services and tourism, as well as its burgeoning debt and refinancing challenges.”

Moody’s Wednesday also confirmed its ratings for other key Dubai Inc. corporates including DP World, Dubai Electricity & Water Authority and DIFC Investments.

The ratings agency said the outlook for all firms is negative, “reflecting the prevailing uncertainty that exists within Dubai Inc., in particular the ongoing structural changes to some of Dubai’s core domestic sectors including real estate, and the potential for economic and market conditions to remain depressed over a longer period”.

By Stefania Bianchi, Dow Jones Newswires

Diary of a distressed property investor, Part IV – - RERA and other Departments you need to survive ? your property nightmare in Dubai

source Kippreport

We know that property investors are struggling, and for the most part, we know why. But what most of us don’t know are everyday struggles they’re going through. One investor agreed to write a journal of her experiences for Kipp. We asked her to be ruthless: she obliged.

Click here to read Part I

Click here to read Part II

Click here to read Part III

Ah Rera. I loved the new regulations and announcements you made over the past eight months, and the threats you were making to incompliant developers raised my hopes that you’d come through for me.

I was wrong. Mind you, I know you have good intentions. All the announcements you’ve made recently are very nice, but it’s too bad that no one in your building has heard of them.

After months of waiting for my good-for-nothing developer to come through with either an announcement that they’ve broken ground or that they’ve cancelled the project, I decided to go to Rera to understand my rights, and to know what I would need to do to cancel my contract and get my money back.

Before I went, I called the authority a number of times to know what documents I needed to have with me to argue my case. Aside from the contract and the receipts, Rera asked me to prepare a letter explaining everything that had happened up until that point, and to outline – in detail – why I wanted to cancel my contract. I wrote it, printed it and filed it along with the hundreds of papers I had gathered about my developer.

I was ready!

Unfortunately, however, Rera wasn’t. I was told to get a number and wait for my turn at counter two. There was no one attending to counter two. I waited. I sat there with a file on my lap determined not to lose my temper, and waited for over an hour and fifteen minutes. No one showed up. I asked around if someone actually works at counter two, and I was told to be patient. So I waited some more.

And then, the guy sitting at counter one asked me what my issue was. I told him, and he said: ‘You shouldn’t be waiting here. You should go to the fourth floor, room 413, and speak to a legal consultant.’

So I went to room 413, where I found a waiting room with three people: two men and one woman, each sitting behind a desk chatting. I sat down and waited. Finally, one of the consultants turned to me and asked me what the problem was. I explained the whole thing. He said I should take my case to the Dubai Courts, and to speak to someone in the real estate section. I asked him why I had been told to come to Rera. He said he didn’t know.

Neither did I.

So I went to the Dubai Courts. I asked where the real estate department is, and I was taken by a helper to the department, and that’s when it hit me: no wonder developers feel they can do what they want. The department was made up of four men, two of which were throwing paper balls at each other, the third guy, the receptionist, was playing a game on his phone, and fourth man, the only one who was helping, was neither in mood nor capable of speaking English.

I spoke to him with my broken Arabic, explaining the mess I’m in and what I need from my developer (my money, my dignity, plus 9 percent interest). He was helpful, and once we got talking, he proved to be helpful. But the process he outlined hurt my brain.

He told me to draft a letter stating all the laws my developer has broken, and have it translated in Arabic. Then I should go to the public notary at the Dubai Court and have the letter authenticated. The court would then send the letter to the developer in the hopes that the mavericks would run to their escrow account and withdraw my cash.

If that doesn’t work, he said, go to court.

Court! I have never gone to court before. I didn’t even know how much hiring a lawyer costs. So I called a number of British and Emirati law firms to get an idea.

Apparently, here’s how it works: if I seek legal representation from a foreign lawyer, I’d have to pay him or her up to AED1,800 an hour for the ground work, but I’d also have to pay court fees and hire a local lawyer – who’d get up to 15 percent of what the court awards me – if my case goes to court. So, my foreign lawyer would act as a consultant to my local lawyer; in short, I’d have a team of lawyers, and I could kiss my present and future savings goodbye.

Or, I can go straight to a local lawyer and pay him or her directly. But then I wouldn’t have peace of mind.

It’s a tough choice, especially given that what little money I have is tied in a phantom property.

I was ready to give the translator and typist the letter that I drafted for Rera, but then I realized that I still have no idea what my rights are. How am I supposed to know if my developer has broken property laws if I don’t know what the laws are? And what am I supposed to understand of the property laws if most of the people I encountered at Rera and the court each told me a different story? The only laws I can reiterate are those that have appeared in the press, such as the much-contested and highly controversial Law 13. And to be fair, I don’t even know what it actually says, I just like the fact that investors have won cases because their lawyer’s cited it in court; last week an investor won his money back because his developer failed to register the transaction 60 days after it took place…thank you Law 13.

Incidentally, does anyone know how to find out whether your property or transaction has been registered with the Land Department?

In any case, I decided against having my letter translated. I didn’t want my developer to read a ‘threatening’ letter that had gaps. I wanted them read something that’ll knock them unconscious.

All I need now are the laws. Does anyone know where I can find them…in English?

Chechen former military commander assassinated in Dubai on Saturday was not a man without enemies

source The National

The Chechen former military commander assassinated in Dubai on Saturday was not a man without enemies.

Sulim Yamadayev was deeply entrenched in the complicated loyalties and violent feuds that have characterised the Kremlin’s turbulent and bloody pacification of Russia’s volatile Muslim republic of Chechnya.

Having studied business in Moscow and military tactics in Afghanistan, Yamadayev, together with his brothers, Ruslan and Dzhabrail, fought with Chechen rebels against Russian forces in the bloody 1994-96 war that ended with de facto independence from Moscow for the rebel government.

However, when Vladimir Putin, then the Russian prime minister, sent federal troops to retake Chechnya in 1999, the entire Yamadayev clan switched sides and were subsequently rewarded by the Kremlin.

Yamadayev led the elite special forces Vostok battalion following his brother Dzhabrail’s death in a car bombing in 2003. The unit gained an unsavoury reputation for involvement in criminal cases of extortion and murder, and was alleged to have committed war crimes, including the murders of civilians, rape, torture, and severing the heads of their victims.

Following the appointment of the former boxer and militia leader Ramzan Kadyrov as president of Chechnya in 2007, Yamadayev’s unit, which according to the Moscow Times answered directly to the Russian defence ministry’s main intelligence directorate, continued to be the only militia operating outside Kadyrov’s control, and the two men became bitter rivals.

Tensions between the two clans came to a head in April 2008, when Vostok battalion vehicles refused to yield to Kadyrov’s motorcade, leading to a gun battle that reportedly left two people dead.

The road standoff marked a turning point in the feud, as Kadyrov publicly began accusing the Yamadayevs of crimes including kidnap and murder, and Chechen prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for Sulim Yamadayev.

However, there was no attempt to arrest Yamadayev, despite the fact that Russian authorities clearly knew where he was.

In August last year, Russian and international media reported that Yamadayev and his men had fought on behalf of the Russians during the week-long conflict with Georgia over the breakaway Georgian republic of South Ossetia. He was relieved of his command soon after the clashes.

In September, Ruslan Yamadayev, who had become a member of the Russian parliament after the war, serving in the party of Mr Putin, was assassinated near the central government headquarters in Moscow in an audacious drive-by shooting.

Rumours immediately spread that Kadyrov might have been behind the killing, although Russian officials and Kadyrov himself were quick to deny those suggestions. To date nobody has been arrested for the murder.

Yamadayev is the latest in a series of Chechen exiles to have been murdered in recent months.

Last month, the former deputy mayor of Grozny, Gilani Shepiyev, was shot outside his Moscow apartment, while in January, Umar Israilov, who had been Ramzan Kadyrov’s bodyguard before falling out with the Chechen president and accusing him of kidnapping and torture, was shot dead in Vienna, where he had been granted political asylum.

In December last year, Islam Dzhanibekov, a former Chechen rebel, was killed in Istanbul, where he had been living for the past six years. He was the third Chechen in six months to have been murdered in Turkey.

Members of the Chechen community have little doubt who they think is behind the killings, according to Yavuz Selim Kurt, who runs the Economic and Social Research Centre think-tank based in Istanbul.

“They suspect Kadyrov is responsible for all these assassinations, with the co-operation of the Russian intelligence services,” he said.

“People are very worried. There are more than 20,000 Chechen refugees in Turkey, and they fear for their safety.”

However, there may be signs that the previously close relationship between Kadyrov and the Kremlin is starting to fray. Earlier this month, the Moscow Times reported that Putin and his former protégé had “traded thinly veiled barbs” over whose responsibility it was to pay for the rebuilding of Chechnya, which is impoverished after more than a decade and a half of war.

Al Qaida in UAE – Holy Cause or The Secret Holy War

source American Chronicle

In June 2002, Al Qaida wrote a letter to the government of United Arab Emirates [UAE] stating that the government was well aware of the fact that Al Qaida infiltrated inside UAE´s security, censorship and monetary agencies.

It was also reported in a number of media that several notorious terrorists including Dawood Ibrahim, Adnan Khashogi etc, were sheltered in United Arab Emirates and they were even running various business establishments in that country without much interference of the government.

UAE´s economy is flourishing in unimaginable manner. Dubai, population 800,000, is a self-described “door to a market of more than 1 billion consumers”. Its drive is to fashion itself not only as the first post-oil economy in the Persian Gulf but as one of the great postmodern world cities. Dubai represents the essence of globalization at work – globalization, of course, interpreted as the ineluctable triumph of Western laissez faire, where world trade means economic rights trump political rights.

Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan founded the Persian Gulf nation styled the United Arab Emirates – composed of seven city-states – in 1971. When he died in early November 2004, he was a multibillionaire owner of banks, industries and villas on Spain’s Costa del Sol and Switzerland’s Lake Geneva.

Most of all, he had every reason to be proud of his family’s intuition and business acumen – as already in the 1940s they had decided to drain Dubai’s port while competitors were sleeping. And he was certainly proud of the way Dubai had evolved, a Hong Kong-by-the-desert with loads of glitz, no “war on terror” and, of course, no free elections. Sheikh Zayed was promised as he lay dying that Dubai would continue to flourish – even without gambling casinos. Not for long, it now seems. Arab Las Vegas, anyone?

During the Middle Ages, Gulf port cities were the essential node in the Arabian Peninsula’s monopoly on trade between Europe and Southeast Asia. Today, Dubai as a city-state/world port city by the “Arabian Gulf” [locals wouldn't be caught dead referring to the "Persian Gulf"] is positioning itself as the essential trade crossroads of Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the South Asian subcontinent. The richest of the seven city-states in the UAE may be the capital, Abu Dhabi, floating on a sea of oil. But 63% of the country’s income now derives from commerce and tourism, and the bulk transits through Dubai.

In this mish-mash of wealthy Arab women covered in silk black chadors, Indian families in saris, young poseurs with Iranian pop T-shirts, armies of men in dishdashas and fake gold Rolexes, phalanxes of Japanese minibuses and American delivery vans, and the frenzy of trading simultaneously in English, Arabic, Bengali, Urdu, Turkish, Farsi, Russian, German, Tagalog, Thai, Gujarati, Afrikaans or Swahili, the lingua franca is indisputably English, not Arabic.

In the totally deregulated airport, anyone may land piloting any sort of aircraft.

As much gold as is extracted all over the world transits every year through Dubai, legally or through smuggling. Even as it strives to replicate Singapore, Dubai feels more like Houston – but with better restaurants, much better cars, much smoother roads and much more alluring state-of-the-art architecture.

Only 25% of the multicultural 2.4 million people living in the UAE are citizens – or “nationals”, as they are known in local lingo. In Dubai they represent only 15%. No wonder Dubai boasts no fewer than 85 foreign private schools.

Dubai may be run like a huge corporation. But unlike a US multinational that delocalizes to profit from cheap labor, Dubai imports cheap labor in droves. The result is immigration without citizenship – a model that fascinates assorted American neo-cons and neo-liberal right-wingers, with the added bonus that unlike Mexicans and Central Americans in the US, immigrants to Dubai totally renounce their political rights on the altar of economic improvement. Neo-liberals refer to Dubai as proof that Islam is not incompatible with globalization.

It’s fair to argue what distinguishes a citizen from a non-citizen in a state where there’s no democracy at all. The power of Dubai’s absolute ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, could be defined as Genghis Khan-like. But if you’re an immigrant coming from Iran’s theocratic nationalism, India’s bureaucratic nightmare or Pakistan’s barely disguised dictatorship, the last thing you’ll want is an interventionist state. So Deng Xiaoping’s dictum – “to get rich is glorious” – ultimately prevails. Lee Kwan Yew applied it in Singapore – and it worked marvels.

Racism in Dubai – as in the US south – is pervasive, but off-limits to discussion, even as the fragile social pact between citizens and foreign residents, which in essence means “shut up and do your job”, is faltering.
A 15% minority could not possibly impose either its language or religion on a cosmopolitan majority – especially when religion is the Wahhabi interpretation of Islam. Thus [Western and Arab] men can get drunk in licensed bars, pubs and restaurants and [Western only] women can wear bikinis on the beach.

Every night an army of multicultural girls – from Southeast Asia, from behind the former Iron Curtain, and elsewhere – officially staying in Dubai as “kindergarten teachers” or “domestic help” descend in miniskirts, halter tops and high heels on the Cyclone nightclub and behave as if they were in Bangkok’s girlie bars. At the same time some Internet sites are blocked “due to incompatibility with the religious, cultural and moral values of the United Arab Emirates”.

A famous Dubai joke has a real-estate agent telling a client to “buy a house in Jumeirah Beach. It’s the safest place to be. Half the bin Laden clan lives there.”

Whatever its compromises, Dubai’s empirical globalization process always seem to veer toward an optimum: a society of apolitical consumers.

For Salafi Jihadist, Dubai may be worse than Sodom and Gomorrah put together. An al-Qaida attack in Dubai would instantly turn the overbuilding capitalist frenzy into ashes. So why does it not happen? First and foremost because al-Qaida and assorted Salafi Jihadist funds still transit through Dubai.

Money-laundering in the financial Mecca of the Persian Gulf has been virtually uncontrollable.

The US government’s case against Zacarias Moussaoui documented how money to finance the attacks of September 11, 2001, was laundered through the UAE. During the mid- to late 1990s, the air path from the UAE to Kandahar was crammed with private jets taking Arab notables on falcon-hunting trips in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.

Frequent fliers included UAE and Saudi rulers - the UAE and Saudi Arabia, along with Pakistan, were the only countries that recognized and maintained normal relations with the Taliban regime. Return flights laundered Taliban and al-Qaida operatives.

Despite the tremendous economic growth and under the blanket of a rather free society with pub, nightclub and girls on call, United Arab Emirates has become one of the major avenues for terrorists as well as Al Qaida in making investments in several hidden or semi-exposed projects thus cashing millions of dollars.

After the Taliban takes control of the area around Kandahar, Afghanistan, in September 1994, prominent Persian Gulf state officials and businessmen, including high-ranking United Arab Emirates and Saudi government ministers, such as Saudi intelligence minister Prince Turki al-Faisal, frequently secretly fly into Kandahar on state and private jets for hunting expeditions.

General Wayne Downing, Bush’s former national director for combating terrorism, says: “They would go out and see Osama, spend some time with him, talk with him, you know, live out in the tents, eat the simple food, engage in falconing, some other pursuits, ride horses.

Both bin Laden and Taliban leader Mullah Omar sometimes participate in these hunting trips. Former US and Afghan officials suspect that the dignitaries’ outbound jets may also have smuggled out al-Qaida and Taliban personnel.

Osama bin Laden’s operatives still use this freewheeling city as a logistical hub, more than half of the Sept. 11 hijackers flew directly from Dubai to the United States in the final preparatory stages for the attack.

Since past five years, Al Qaida has started running various under-cover business establishments such as restaurants, grocery stores, pubs, cocktail lounge, nightclubs and departments stores.

In most of such establishments, especially Asian females are employed and given secret training on various offensive tactics. Some of these girls are heavily compensated for agreeing to get infected with HIV virus. Later they are posted in various nightclubs only to attract western tourists and spend night with them.

This is termed as ´Noble Cause´ or ´Secret Holy War´ of Al Qaida aimed at spreading HIV virus to the western society at a larger frequency. Some females from Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Turkey, Yemen, Iraq and other Arab nations also join such ´noble cause´ by accepting HIV virus thus turning into living bomb for the westerners.

Property Disputes Dubai – Mediation Centre

source The National

Dubai has created professional groups and a mediation centre to resolve the hundreds of disputes that have arisen among investors and developers as the property sector soured in the global economic downturn.

The initiative, an effort by the Dubai Land Department and the Dubai Real Estate Regulatory Agency (Rera), is designed to integrate the main participants in the property industry into a regulatory framework headed by Rera.

A mediation centre was established to help resolve disputes faster, away from Property Court. Currently, more than 500 cases are said to be pending with the court.

Shaikh Ahmad Bin Juma Al Maktoum passed away on Monday in Dubai

Shaikh Ahmad Bin Juma Al Maktoum passed away on Monday in Dubai

The palace of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, is mourning the death of Shaikh Ahmad, WAM reported.

A statement from the Ruler’s Court said the burial will take place in Umm Hurair Graveyard in Bur Dubai following the performance of Al Asr prayers in Nad Al Sheba mosque.

Local radio stations are playing the Quranic verses as a sign of mourning.

Shaikh Ahmad Bin Jumaa Al Maktoum was born in 1936, and had several children.

His daughter Shaikha Rodha Bint Ahmad Bin Jumaa is married to Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Minister of Finance and Deputy Ruler of Dubai.

UK Police Quiz Emirates Passengers On Security Threat

source WallStreetJournal

DUBAI (Zawya Dow Jones)–U.K. police are questioning all 164 passengers from an Emirates Airline flight from Dubai to London’s Gatwick airport after a note implying a security threat was found on the aircraft shortly before landing this morning.

“A note implying a security threat was found today on EK 011 from Dubai to London Gatwick by a passenger, ten minutes before landing,” an Emirates’ spokeswoman said in an emailed statement to Zawya Dow Jones.

“The aircraft is now being thoroughly inspected and the passengers are being interviewed by the local authorities,” the spokeswoman said.

The security alert is the second incident to have hit Emirates, the Middle East’s largest passenger carrier, in the last 48 hours. One of the airline’s planes carrying 225 passengers was forced to make an emergency landing late Friday in the Australian city of Melbourne after its tail struck the tarmac during take-off.

Julie Ayres, a spokeswoman for Gatwick airport, said there was no information on how serious the threat was and that they aircraft is being held in a safe area while its being searched.

Ayres said 164 passengers and 18 crew were onboard the jet and that all had been safely evacuated.

By Stefania Bianchi, Dow Jones Newswires; +971 4 3644967; stefania.bianchi@dowjones.com

Dubai Police and German unit sign agreement to enhance law enforcement

source GulfNews

Dubai: A memorandum of understanding was signed on Sunday between Dubai Police and Bundeskriminalamt (The Federal Criminal Police office of Germany) to develop capability and capacity in police cooperation and to promote best law-enforcement practices.

The signing happened during the first day of the international 7th Symposium of the Best Police Practices hosted in Dubai, which had keynote speakers in the fields of child abuse and pornography, organised crime, and security-education programme. The specialists shed light on their experiences about the impact of these crimes on the society and ways to handle it.
 
Jorg Ziercke, President of the Federal Criminal Police Office of Germany, expressed his delight about the memorandum as well as the symposium saying, “Dubai has growingly improved its capability and capacity in a wide-range of aspects and has a very positive reputation internationally. We are delighted to sign this agreement, especially cooperating in investigations related to organised crimes and money laundry. We also look forward to mutually share the latest technology used in criminal investigations and security.”

“On a number of criminal cases Dubai Police and Bundeskriminalamt cooperated in capturing the suspects involved in the crime be it a robbery or drug smuggling. Cooperating with Dubai Police will mutually benefit both countries in limiting crimes,” he said.

Dubai cheque fraud – Dubai’s police chief: “Communism failed, now capitalism has failed, so I believe now is the time for Islamic finance,” he said.

source Financial Times

Dubai’s police chief called yesterday for an easing of regulations on cheque fraud as the emirate’s jails fill with people guilty of bouncing cheques, which are still widely used across the Gulf.

Lieutenant General Dhahi Khalfan al-Tamim’s call came as the financial crisis plunges rising numbers of residents into unsustainable debt after a lending rampage by “irresponsible” banks.

“We warned them, but banks lent too easily and too broadly,” he said on the sidelines of a conference at Dubai police college. “Banks said it wasn’t our business . . . but we knew in the end it would come back to us.”

Defaulters are treated as criminals if a complaint is issued by a creditor. Prison officials say that about 20 per cent of the city’s 2,400 inmates have been convicted of cheque fraud.

Lawyers say the number of financial-related cases and convictions is ballooning as the slowdown and a property crash combine with disappearing credit lines.

Lt Gen Khalfan said people who have failed to maintain payments on cheques used to underwrite debt – for example, on housing or cars – should be pursued in the civil courts. But those who write bad cheques to acquire goods or services should still be prosecuted as criminals.

Dubai, he said, should play an important role in restruc-turing the global financial architecture, and a solution would be sharia-compliant finance. “Communism failed, now capitalism has failed, so I believe now is the time for Islamic finance,” he said.

Dubai closed Beach – Jumeirah Beach Test

source 7days Dubai

Dubai: The results of water samples collected from Jumeirah Beach to deter-mine whether industrial waste is flowing into the sea have not yet come back from the lab. Dubai Municipality collected water samples on Tuesday and is testing to find out if it contains heavy metal.
“At the moment we have kept the beach closed and will only open it after getting reports that the beach is safe,” said Mohammed Abdul Rahman Hassan, Head of Marine Environment Unit.

Marnie Pearce jailed in Dubai – Save me and my children

Save me and my Children official Website Marnie Pearce

The heartbreaking moment in Dubai – Marnie Pearce might be never see their children again

Source The SUN UK

Blonde Marnie Pearce, 40, had been on the run since an arrest warrant was issued against her in the Arab emirate.

The teaching assistant denies her ex-hubby’s claim she committed adultery, a crime in the strict Muslim country.

But Marnie gave herself up and is serving a three-month sentence in a harsh jail before being deported.

Her friends released the heartbreaking video of the mum handing over her sons to their Egyptian dad Ihab El Labban on the steps of the court.

According to reports, Dubai Inc may soon have a PR agency to help change its image in the media. Will it work?

Kippreport  Dubai , March 9 , 2009

It seems as though Dubai finally understands the need to be open, and to provide answers to legitimate questions. A senior delegation of Dubai’s financial and economic leaders went hunting for public relations firms in London last week, reports The National. They apparently wanted to find out the cause behind all the negative publicity that Dubai is getting in the international media, and what they can do to improve its image.

The paper also reported that soon Dubai Inc will select one firm from a shortlist of candidates to help the emirate spread the good news.

Good PR is something that Dubai needs at the moment; especially since the world’s press is reporting – sardonically – about Dubai’s hardships, and how the emirate’s party has ended. Lack of transparency in the city spawned numerous rumors that the government has not confirmed or denied, including reports of an increasing number of cars being left at the airport and the imminent downfall of the once ‘glamorous’ city.

Fixing Dubai’s PR woes, however, depends on the brief given to the PR agency, says Alexander McNabb, the group account director of Spot On Public Relations.

“Public relations is very much like being a doctor. If you come to me and say I’m not sick, then I can do nothing for you. If you come to me and tell me what is wrong with you, then I can help to work with you and diagnose what is wrong, and then work to put it right,” he says.

“If you come to me and say I have got the greatest company in the world, and I want you to make everyone believe that, my question is why doesn’t everyone believe it today?” he asks, adding that it is essential to test that greatness. “When we do that, we find that there’s stuff you need to fix in the company, its processes, in the way that the company communicates, what its assets truly are; it has to test those assumptions before you go and do the job of PR.”

If the brief being given to the agency is ‘work with us to work on this process’, then that’s a wonderful thing. But if the brief being given to the agency is ‘we want a positive media coverage for Dubai’, then I think it cannot work,” he says.

The first challenge PR agencies face is separating fact from fiction; to publicize an honest and accurate account of how Dubai has been hit by the financial crisis (because it has been hit by the financial crisis), before it begins to extol the ‘greatness’ of the city. They will need to give numbers and names, and then talk about how they will get back to normal, and what they’re doing to achieve that goal.

The last thing Dubai needs is more public proclamations on how rosy everything is in Dubai, which include statements from officials, such as Mohamed Ali Alabbar, the head of Emaar properties: “Our feet are firmly planted on the ground, and our eyes remain fixed on new horizons, on a future that remains bright.” The statement was made in November 2008, weeks before companies in Dubai went on a firing spree.

But McNabb says that while transparency is essential, it may not happen as quickly as one would want.

Bringing about a change in the perspective of Dubai Inc is going to take time, he says, “Because you want to build something enduring. It’s not about putting a sticky plaster over the negative media, but about building something that works [...] across the long term, and that gives you long term value.”

“[...] That means investing in the process. Not just financially, but with resources, with intellectual capacity, with the guidance of people who are able to take decisions from the very top [...] if it’s going to work.”

Sad News – John O`Dolan Owner of Ireland on The World Dubai takes his own life

The owner of the island of Ireland on Dubai’s The World project has taken his own life amid rumours of financial worries as a result of the global economic crisis, it has been reported.

John O’Dolan, one of Ireland’s leading building developers, was one of four business partners from his home country who brought the “Ireland in the Sun” development in March 2007 for AED142m ($38.6m).

The four had plans to build a resort with a collection of homes, apartments, restaurants and retail amidst beaches, boating and leisure opportunities on the 225,000 sqft island development owned by Nakheel.

O’Dolan, owner of O’ Dolan International, was found dead after taking his own life at his home in Rusheen Bay in Galway on Friday, leaving behind a wife and three children, according to Irish daily The Irish Independent.

There is speculation that his death was linked to the recession with commentators saying O’Dolan was depressed and despondent over his faltering finances – receivers had been appointed to two of his business interests, the Kinlay House Hostel and property sales firm Polska Property.

However, there has been no confirmation on the level of financial distress O’Dolan, described by friends as “so much fun to be around,” was in, the newspaper added.

On buying the island of Ireland O’Dolan said: “I admire the vision that is behind this project. The islands are truly spectacular, and we look forward to developing Ireland, which will provide the Irish homeowner with their very own place they can call home in the sun.”

In true Irish tradition he presented Hamza Mustafa, general manager of The World (pictured above), with a bowl of shamrock, customary for Irish business people and diplomats, on signing the property deal.

Other members of the Irish consortium are Noel Connellan, Ray Norton and Andrew Brett, who bought the island to coincide with St Patrick’s Day.

O’Dolan, 51, founded the auctioneering company Mullery, O’Dolan and Doyle which became one of the biggest in the west of Ireland throughout the 1980s and 1990s.

He went on to become a major player in the real estate sector throughout the country and beyond and became renowned for choosing signature properties.

O’Dolan International was set up to develop overseas properties including the island of Ireland in Dubai.

Other landmark buildings owned by O’Dolan include former Revenue Commissioners offices on Lord Edward Street in Dublin, bought five years ago with partners.

Dubai Tourist be aware: Even you are tourist and share a Hotel room unmarried you are a criminal in dubai

Many (usually western) couples wonder about living together in Dubai when they’re not married. Note that the following comments apply to Dubai, there are differences in how the rules are applied in other emirates.

This topic is not intended to encourage anyone to break the law, it is simply one perception of life in Dubai from the perspective of couples living together. Nothing in here should be taken as advice. If you break the law in any country, you are at risk of being arrested and prosecuted.

In the UAE and Dubai, it is against the law to live together, in the western sense, with someone you are not married to. You can only live together with a member of the opposite sex if you are married to them, or they are a family member. In fact, strictly speaking, it is illegal to be in a private room, or even in a car, with an unrelated member of the opposite sex. This applies to hotel rooms also. The rule is referred to as the Tawajed clause.

In reality, the situation is not quite so harsh. This is what one official was reported as saying in November 2007 (in a Gulf News article – see full article for more comments on Sharia law, culture, customs etc with respect to men and women mingling in the UAE).

Mohammad Yousuf, Deputy Director of the Dubai Courts Department, said while the Federal punitive law is implemented in the UAE, the situation is different in Dubai. The Tawajed or Tahseen Al Ma’asiya clause, he said, is not implemented in Dubai.

Hotel rooms are often shared by unmarried couples. We’ve never heard of a hotel asking for a marriage certificate, and they usually only want to see one passport. Even if both passports are shown, eyebrows wouldn’t be raised at the different surnames since it is usual in the UAE for Arab women to keep their own surnames after getting married.

It is almost unheard of for anyone to get into trouble because they’re sharing a car with someone of the opposite sex that’s not related to them. If there is a problem, it’s more likely because of another reason, for example the police think an illegal taxi service is going on, or there’s been an accident involving alcohol.

As for sharing apartments and villas, it is quite common for groups of unrelated mixed gender people to share accommodation (and sometimes even rooms but usually room mates are of the same sex) in Dubai. Again, if people do run into trouble, it’s more likely because they’ve annoyed neighbours who have complained to police about noise, alcohol, and or drugs.

Finally, couples wondering about living together in an apartment or villa in Dubai are normally unlikely to have any problems, unless they draw attention to themselves in a way that the police are forced to get involved. As the concept of having a girlfriend / boyfriend is not generally acceptable to many non-Western cultures, you may find it more convenient to refer to your partner as your wife / husband when dealing with non-Westerners. That can smooth the path so to speak, in many circumstances, however, you won’t get away with that if you’re in a situation where the authorities want to verify your relationship. For example if your girlfriend gets pregnant in Dubai.

Nationality and/or culture can make a difference – Asians seem to appear in newspaper reports more often than western nationalities as getting into strife especially unmarried mothers. A Muslim women living with a non-Muslim boyfriend, or 2 Muslims living together, are more at risk of legal problems than a Muslim man living with a non-Muslim girlfriend.

Your place of employment can make a difference also, since usually your employer is also your sponsor and can be held responsible if you step out of line. A conservative employer, or government employer, is unlikely to view a couple living together very favorably, especially if they’re in company provided accommodation.

Note also that while it is possible for one party to obtain a residence visa for their spouse in the UAE, if you’re not married, that will not be possible. At least not a husband or wife visa. If you employ your boyfriend/girlfriend, then it might be possible since they’re an employee as far as the authorities are concerned.

Living together in other emirates

In order of risk of problems from lowest to highest, it looks something like this (in our opinion only):

Dubai (lowest risk)

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You could be sharing an apartment with a friend of the opposite sex. And the arrangement could be innocent, purely for financial reasons. But in the eyes of Sharia law you are committing an offence.

More and more people are being punished because they claim they were unaware of the law and its clauses.

There are hundreds of cases such as these that emerge each year either from the police or the courts. An increasing number of men and women, who are not blood relatives nor legally married, and have shared a flat, room or even sat in tinted cars, are being jailed and deported, a lawyer said. These men and women have shared no relationship.

Dr Adel Khamis Al Mimari from Al Itazan Consultant and Advocates said they are being punished in accordance with Sharia law. The clause is known as “Tawajed” or “Tahseen Al Ma’asiya”. These couples have been punished under this clause: sharing a closed place and encouraging sin even though they shared no relationship.

He told Gulf News: “The bottom line is awareness. Many foreigners are not familiar with Sharia law and hence they are punished. If these couples go unnoticed, then there is no trouble. But if the authorities for some reason or another know they are sharing a ?closed space’ they can be punished. This is the law.”

All about respect

“These couples believe they are leading a normal life, like they would in their home countries. But this is considered a sin here. Filipino nationals top the list of nationalities who fall into this trap followed by Indians, Europeans and Chinese. People should be educated about this issue to avoid problems.”

Dr Ahmad Al Qubaisi, a leading Islamic scholar, told Gulf News that every nation has its culture and traditions. Each nation should respect others.

“Westerners respect each other and they know their countries’ traditions and laws. So why when it comes to Muslims they claim that they do not know anything about the traditions and culture? The West knows well that Muslims, like Hindus, Christians and Jews, have their culture and traditions. They should respect our religion,” Dr Al Qubaisi said.

The tradition

“Our tradition is against a man and woman, who are not legally related, mingling privately or being in a closed place alone, while in the West they can have a sexual relationship even though they are not married. Our traditions are very different,” Dr Al Qubaisi said.

“We see many such cases of foreign men and women in courts. They say they do not know the traditions and religion here. They should know and respect our tradition the same way we respect their tradition and religion,” he said.

The sentence

Dr Khalifa Rashid Al Sha’ali, Dean of the Faculty of Law at Ajman University, said if a man and a woman who are not related are caught alone in a private place, they face a jail sentence or lashes even if they were not involved in any suspicious act.

It is up to the judge’s discretion to decide whether they should be deported.

Dr Al Sha’ali, a former Ajman Police Chief, told Gulf News that during his tenure, he dealt with several such cases.

Mohammad Yousuf, Deputy Director of the Dubai Courts Department, said while the Federal punitive law is implemented in the UAE, the situation is different in Dubai. The Tawajed or Tahseen Al Ma’asiya clause, he said, is not implemented in Dubai.

Sultan Khalifa Bin Bakheet Al Matroushi, Chairman of the Ajman Federal Appeal Court, said if a man and woman are sitting alone in the work place or in front of people, they will not be charged. If they are found in a bedroom or in a house or car and the circumstances are suspicious, they will face charges even if they have not committed adultery. The couple can also be deported, he said.

Justice minister explains the law

Mohammad Bin Nakhira Al Daheri, Minister of Justice, told Gulf News that according to Sharia, if a man and woman are found in a closed place alone they may get arrested, but he gave an assurance that they are held for good reason. He stressed that the police would investigate first.

“If a couple is found alone in a closed place such as a house, room or car they may face legal action. There also must be a complaint against them. However, if their actions are not against public morals such as being in their work place or inside a lift, of course no action would be taken. If police receive a tip that a man and woman are in a closed place, they will investigate and if they are not doing anything against the law they will not be punished.

“There must be a complaint and investigation from police. The public prosecution and the judge can decide if something illegal was going on,” Al Daheri said.

What the people say

Kristina from Macedonia has been living in the UAE for the last six months. She said she has no idea about Sharia law or the clause, which prohibits men and women, who are not blood relatives nor legally married, from sharing a flat, room or even sitting in tinted cars.

“People must have privacy. It is strange that a neighbour or a watchman can call the police if two people are in a private place alone. Why don’t people call the police when they hear someone beating up his wife at home?

“Many of us here are not Muslims. We respect Islam and the traditions of this land. Hence, our way of life should also be respected.”

She said it is the responsibility of companies who hire people from abroad to make them aware about Sharia.

“This law does not exist in my country, where it is normal to be with your boyfriend alone in a closed place. I think if companies alert people before they come here, it will help them.”

Mohammad Elias from India is in his 20s and not married. He has been in the UAE for two months, but says he has never heard about the clause.

“I may not agree with the clause, but I do respect the law of the land here, and I think foreigners should adhere to the law,” he said.

Tess Yema from the Philippines works as a teacher in a school in Sharjah and has been here since August. “I am aware of the law. I have a brother-in-law who has been in the UAE for many years. He told me about the clause.

“Before coming to the UAE, the authorities in my country told me about Sharia. I knew these aspects very well before coming here. I respect the law in this country and I respect their way of thinking even if it is different from the one in my country,” Yema said. “I was even told about the dress code here. I knew that if I offended the law I would face punishment,” she said.

Samer Assaf is married with two daughters. His family is in Syria.

“I have been living here for more than 15 years, but I have never heard about this clause, not in my country and not here. I am a Christian, but I respect the traditions and customs of others.”

Lucia Alinea from the Philippines, has been in the UAE for a few months only, but she is well aware of the clause. “My brother has been here for many years and he is aware of the Sharia law. “I tried to learn as much about the customs and traditions here before leaving the Philippines. We have to respect the law here or anywhere,” said Lucia, who is a teacher in a private school in Sharjah.

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Former UAE Minister of State Al Falasi gets two years in jail for fraud

original published xpress Dubai
http://www.xpress4me.com/news/uae/dubai/20012058.html

Former UAE minister of state Khalifa Mohammad Bakhit Al Falasi was on Wednesday sentenced to two years in jail by the Dubai Misdemeanours Courts after being found guilty of fraud and embezzlement.

The charges related to swindling a Lebanese woman of her family’s Dubai-based business, an undisclosed amount of money, believed to be millions of dirhams, and a large property.

Two other defendants – American businessman Salim Helmy Abdullah and Indian businessman Bilal Madhom Raman – were also jailed for two years.

The former minister’s son, Mohammed Khalifa Al Falasi, was acquitted on all charges.

In an exception to its usual policy, an official statement from Dubai Courts named all the defendants.

Presiding Judge Hamad Abdul Latif also initiated an action for a civil suit which is to be filed on behalf of the victim against the three defendants.

The charges, brought by Lebanese businesswoman Maysoon Fahmy Jamal, led to the former minister’s dismissal by a presidential decree last July, just five months after his appointment.

Ms Jamal, according to Dubai Public Prosecution, was involved in business dealings with Al Falasi since 1995.

In her deposition to prosecutors, she said her late brother Hassan Fahmy Jamal was the owner of an IT company which developed computer security technology.

Khalifa Mohammad Bakhit Al Falasi was, for a fee, the company’s sponsor.

She said that between May 2005 and May 2008, Al Falasi and the two other defendants who were employed under him swindled her by tricking her into signing a release form in order for the former minister and his partners to take over the company.

She stated that the group falsely informed her that the former minister was a part-owner in the company and approached her with business offerings that could boost her other businesses.

The minister, his son, and their co-defendants earlier denied all charges. Those found guilty are expected to file an appeal immediately.