Dubai: Deyaar’s former chief executive officer will spend 25 years in jail and pay around Dh92 million in fines after he lost two appeals in graft cases of abusing office and misappropriating funds.

The 52-year-old American-Lebanese ex-CEO was fighting two appeals before the Dubai Appeal Court and seeking acquittal in two graft cases in which he was accused of indulging in financial irregularities to the tune of Dh56 million and Dh43 million, respectively, during his tenure at Deyaar.

Presiding judge Saeed Salem Bin Sarm rejected former CEO’s appeals and upheld the two primary judgements, according to which the American-Lebanese convict will serve two jail terms, 15 years and 10 years.

According to Wednesday’s judgements, presiding judge Bin Sarm also upheld the fines of Dh56 million and Dh36 million against the convict, who had pleaded not guilty in both cases and firmly refuted his accusations.

In the first graft case, the 52-year-old was jailed for 15 years for abusing his office [as Deyaar’s CEO then] and misappropriating nearly Dh56 million over a plot in Texas in November 2007.

He conspired with his two countrymen executives, who represented a US-based company that owned the relevant plot, committed financial irregularities and pushed through the sale of the land to Deyaar in 2007.

The other two executives were also found guilty and sentenced in absentia [by the Court of First Instance] to 15 years in jail followed by deportation.

The American-Lebanese had rejected the accusations of abusing his office, forging documents and using them, and profiting illegally from Deyaar through committing financial irregularities and embezzlement.

The three American defendants were also ordered to repay Dh56 million to Deyaar and will have to pay Dh201,000 in civil temporary compensation to Deyaar.

Dubai’s Public Funds Prosecution had accused the American trio; Deyaar’s former head of legal department, a Malaysian; the ex-financial manager, a Pakistani; the engineering department’s former vice-chairman, an Australian; the ex-director of international projects, a Lebanese; and the operations’ ex-chief, an Indian, of involvement in the graft case.

The 52-year-old conspired against Deyaar when he submitted a feasibility study that was full of irregularities pertaining to the purchase of the plot in Houston, Texas from the American owner [one of the convicted executives and his representative].

The main convict had submitted the tender to buy the plot to Deyaar’s late board chairman, who consented to the purchase, after the defendants used a tampered contract in which it was falsely mentioned that the seller had the title deed.

The remaining five suspects were acquitted for lack of evidence.

In the second graft case that is known as Deyaar’s first and major graft case involving the American-Lebanese and nine others, the appellate court convicted the former CEO, Deyaar’s Indian former operations’ manager and an Argentinian company owner on three counts of financial irregularities worth nearly Dh250 million.

They were all jailed 10 years each and fined Dh36 million and ordered to repay the same amount to Deyaar.

The court also upheld the three-year imprisonment of an Indian marketing manager.

The accusation sheet also included an Emirati former minister [who passed away], and five other suspects, including two Indian executives, a Lebanese sales representative, a Palestinian sales director and a Pakistani salesman.

Due to lack of evidence, the five suspects [besides the late minister] were all acquitted of abuse of office, illegal profiting, dispersing public funds, divulging secrets, forgery, breach of trust, swindling, deception, embezzlement, bribery and other charges.

Furthermore, a court-appointed committee of financial experts revised the case files [more than 13 boxes] that contained thousands of official and unofficial papers, accounts and financial statements and records.

The committee was tasked to study the defence teams’ objections pertaining to the financial report that was issued by the Rulers Court’s Financial Control Department [FCD].

Since it surfaced before the Dubai Misdemeanours Court for the first time in 2009, the case has been handled by more than six benches of judges and before different chambers.

The case was also referred back to Dubai prosecutors, who modified the charge sheet twice between 2009 and 2012.

Out of all graft cases involving Deyaar, the second graft case [Dh250 million] was believed to be of the highest importance in terms of the misappropriated amount and the suspects’ profiles as it involved a former CEO and a former minister who was Deyaar’s former board chairman.

Wednesday’s two appellate rulings remain subject to appeal before the Cassation Court within 30 days.