Investment turns toxic for Pakistani expatriate

Dubai: Struggling to get through a normal workday, S.H., a Pakistani expatriate residing in Dubai, had not reckoned with the implications of a phone call he got from a bank.

"I had some savings and did not want to consider investing in property," S.H. told Gulf News.

He decided to open a fixed deposit with the National Bank of Fujairah, at which point the customer service section called to solicit an investment.

"They promised me a 100-per cent protected investment, with three times the leverage," he said.

They informed him that he had an approval. "At this point, I felt a little confident. However, it was not clear that I would be investing in the Lehman Brothers stocks," he said.

S.H. was unaware of his involvement with the stocks when Lehman Brothers collapsed.

The local bank is now demanding the amount that had been assigned for leverage, which was almost three times the amount that he had invested initially.

"Ever since the bankruptcy, I have incurred a loss of $90,000 (Dh330,610). I believe that if an investment fails, the bank should take responsibility, too," he said.