Graft case: Court receives papers on Sama Dubai status

Dubai: A prosecutor on Tuesday submitted an official letter stating that the funds of Sama Dubai are public and informed the Dubai Appeals Court that five executives of the company charged with financial irregularities are in fact public servants.

"We received an official letter from the Financial Control Department [FCD] at the Rulers Court confirming that the funds of Sama Dubai and Lagoons are public and that their employees are public servants," said the Dubai Public Prosecution's representative when he handed FCD's letter to Presiding Judge Mustafa Al Shennawi on Tuesday in Courtroom 20.

The judge adjourned the hearing into financial irregularities and bribery at Lagoons, a Sama Dubai project, until December 15 for defence lawyers to present their case.

Presiding Judge Al Shennawi earlier extended the bail of four executives, including three who had worked on the Lagoons project, two Emiratis and one who did not have any personal documents, besides a Syrian executive from Damac, who all pleaded not guilty to charges of bribery, abuse of duties as government-sector employees and financial irregularities.

Lagoons' former chief executive officer, A.M., an Emirati who was acquitted by the Court of First Instance, pleaded not guilty and denied the charge of collecting Dh2.9 million in bribe.

The Court of First Instance had in July acquitted A.M., of any wrongdoing including the charge of causing a Dh137-million loss to Lagoons.