Dubai: Ten businessmen and executives have been accused of secretly meeting in a villa that was being run as a gambling den and playing poker up to the amount of Dh790,000.

An Iranian businessman was said to have set up his villa in the gated community area of The Springs and hosted nine men — two Lebanese, two Iranians, two Russians, a Danish, an Indian and one Norwegian — to play poker in April.

The Iranian was believed to have prepared his villa as a gambling place, according to records, and furnished it with a proper gambling table and also possessed tens of liquor bottles.

Acting upon an informant’s tipoff, law enforcement officers raided the businessman’s villa and apprehended the 10 men aged between 21 and 55.

Prosecutors accused the Iranian businessman of setting up his residence as a gambling den and possessing 83 different types of alcoholic beverages.

The remaining nine suspects were accused of gambling for amounts that totalled Dh790,000.

Meanwhile, the Indian and one of the Russian suspects were charged with running the poker game and distributing the cards and chips.

The Iranian suspect pleaded not guilty when he appeared before the Dubai Court of First Instance on Tuesday.

Presiding judge Mohammad Jamal read out the charges against the Iranian suspect and did not read out the accusations against the rest of the suspects, who were all present in courtroom three.

According to the charge sheet, prosecutors said the suspects gambled for amounts varying between Dh50,000 and Dh150,000.

A police lieutenant testified to prosecutors that police raided the businessman’s villa in The Springs following an informant’s tipoff that he had been running it as a gambling den.

“At the time when we raided the place, all suspects were around the special table and gambling. Upon confronting the Iranian suspect, he claimed that he constantly gathered with his fellow businessmen and merchants for gambling at his residence. He claimed during questioning that he had purchased the poker table from Dragon Mart. We also seized liquor bottles,” he claimed to prosecutors.

Presiding judge Jamal will hand out a ruling on August 6.