Dubai: A former chief executive officer of Deyaar was sentenced to 10 years in jail on Wednesday morning for abusing his office and misappropriating Dh30 million through an illegal tender.

The Dubai Appeal Court convicted 49-year-old American-Lebanese Z.S. of abusing his former job as Deyaar’s CEO and committing financial irregularities by pushing through the illegal tender with Thermo, a construction services company.

Last year, the Dubai Court of First Instance sentenced in absentia a 61-year-old Argentinean, K.M, a partner in an information technology company; Thermo’s Canadian ex-project manager, F.L.; and Thermo’s British ex-general manager, A.S., to 10 years in jail each for making illegal gains to the tune of Dh10 million from the tender. Z.S. was sentenced to 15 years in jail.

According to Wednesday’s ruling, Z.S. and the three convicts [who were sentenced in absentia] will have to jointly pay a fine of Dh30 million and repay the same amount.

“The accused [Z.S.] will be deported following the completion of his punishment,” said presiding judge Saeed Salem Bin Sarm in courtroom 20.

Z.S. is the only convict who remains in Dubai Central Jail pending other trials in another graft case, while K.M., F.L. and A.S. remain at large. In March 2014, the Dubai Cassation Court overturned the acquittal of Deyaar’s ex-CEO and referred the case back to the appellate court for a fresh trial [that issued Wednesday’s ruling].

Meanwhile in November 2013, the Appeal Court had scrapped a 15-year jail term and a Dh30 million fine against Z.S. and acquitted him of abusing his position and helping Thermo win a tender illegally so he could make a personal gain of Dh20 million.

Prosecutors had accused the defendants of deliberately inflicting losses on Deyaar, a company in which Dubai Government owns a stake.

Z.S. pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The former CEO had been in custody since April 2008 before he stood on various trials.

He won an irrevocable acquittal in one case while a case is still pending before the primary court.

When Z.S. was granted bail in 2013, he fled the UAE for some time before he was re-arrested in Yemen. Since his repatriation from Yemen last summer, he has been in custody at Dubai Central Jail.

Records said the Argentinian [K.M.] absconded shortly after he was granted bail in 2012. Prosecutors charged F.L. with abusing his public office as project manager of Thermo, in which Dubai Government also owns stock, to make unlawful gains of Dh500,000.

A.S. was accused of aiding F.L. in perpetrating the fraud.

The Canadian and the Briton were fined Dh500,000 and also ordered to return the same amount.

Wednesday’s appellate ruling [against Z.S.] remains subject to appeal for one last time before the Cassation Court within 30 days.