Court jails man for Dh17m real estate scam

Dubai: A 32-year-old Emirati was sentenced to three years imprisonment for collecting unlawful commissions for properties he sold in Dubai Industrial City (DIC).

Aside from handing down a jail term, the Dubai Court of First Instance also ordered the convicted Emirati identified only as A.A. to pay a Dh17 million fine and repay a similar amount he obtained as kickbacks on property deals.

Presiding Judge Hamad Abdul Latif Abdul Jawad's verdict was the first ruling in a series of corruption cases which are being tried by the Dubai Criminal Courts.

Defence counsel Dr Abdullah Al Saeedi said his client will appeal the judgment.

Prosecutors had accused A.A. of selling and leasing industrial and commercial properties owned by DIC.

Records said A.A., who worked as sales manager for the properties, demanded unlawful commissions from a number of DIC clients that totalled Dh17 million. The commissions were paid out in cheques or through bank transfers to the account of an electronics company that was registered in the names of his mother and sister.

A.A. denied the charges.

"This is absolutely untrue and didn't happen," A.A. said during his trial.

Dr Al Saeedi had insisted during the trial that his client did not ask for the Dh17 million in unlawful commissions for selling and reselling properties and that he never abused his position as a public sector employee.

"The Public Prosecution charged him with illegally benefiting from the public works assigned to him and collecting kickbacks.

"The Dubai Economic Department licensed DIC and this makes it a private company and not a public one," argued Dr Al Saeedi.

"The prosecution witnesses failed to substantiate that my client abused the DIC's statute and he has a clean criminal record so I asked the court to pronounce him innocent," said Dr Al Saeedi.