Dubai: The Dubai’s highest court has rejected a British authorities’ request to extradite three British brothers for their alleged involvement in conspiring to launder money and cheating public revenues amounting to Dh506 million.
The legal authorities in the UK lodged, through the diplomatic channels, a request to extradite the British brothers before Dubai Public Prosecution [DPP] for their alleged role in tax evasion, money laundering, cheating public revenue and selling or offering goods for sale with illegal trademarks.
The Dubai Cassation Court rejected the extradition request after the brothers’ lawyers Ali Ismail Al Zarouni and Ismail Al Zarouni argued that their clients’ did not commit any of the above mentioned crimes and requested dismissal of the case due to time lapse as the alleged crimes happened more than five years ago.
In the extradition request, the British authorities mentioned that the three brothers were primary members of an organised crime group and were wanted in the UK for crimes that were reportedly committed between year 2004 and 2008.
Based on a judicial cooperation treaty jointly signed by the UK and the UAE, the Dubai prosecutors reviewed the extradition request and referred it to a Dubai court to decide whether or not the three Britons should be extradited.
When questioned by the Dubai prosecutors, the three brothers, aged between 27 and 46, refuted the accusations and pleaded against their extradition, on which the request was referred to the court in January 2015.
In April 2015, the Dubai Appeal Court [the first stage of court that looks into extradition requests] rejected prosecutors’ request to extradite the brothers citing time lapse [since the alleged crimes happened more than five years ago and the request was lodged in 2014].
The prosecutors appealed the decision before the Dubai Cassation Court, that overturned the decision of not to extradite the Britons in June 2015. The case was referred back to the appellate court, where a new panel of judges decided that the brothers can be extradited and handed over to the UK authorities.
However, Al Zarouni lawyers appealed the verdict before the Dubai Cassation Court.
In his defence arguments, advocated Ali Ismail Al Zarouni argued that a witness had testified earlier that the arrest warrant against one of the brothers was issued in August 2013.
“The alleged crimes that were mentioned in the extradition request [and supposedly those accusations were true and had happened] … they took place in 2008. This strongly proves that more than five years have lapsed and that the extradition request must be rejected. My client did not commit any of the mentioned crimes. My client owns a number of properties in the UK and had plans to build a mosque in Preston City … a member of the royal family and high ranking officials there, fabricated those allegations against him. We have also provided the court with written proof that he was subjected to death threats because of his religion and ethnicity,” advocate Ali Ismail Al Zarouni contended before the court.
In his defence around a second brother, advocate Ismail Al Zarouni argued: “The alleged crimes happened between 2004 and 2008 and the extradition request was lodged in 2014. However, my client left the UK in August 2010 … had there been an arrest warrant against him, he would have been prevented from leaving the UK and arrested at the airport. But he wasn’t!”
In their defence concerning the third brother, Al Zarouni lawyers told the Cassation Court that the extradition request against the latter [third brother] was lodged over an act [evading the value added tax] that it is not incriminated as per the UAE laws.
“Extradition of the third brother will be considered a breach of his human rights because there were death threats against him and his family while he was living in the UK … and that was documented as per security reports issued by Lancashire Police. The extradition request was lodged because of his ethnicity,” defended Ali Ismail Al Zarouni.
The lawyers further contended due to a travel ban that was issued by a Sharjah Court against the third brother in 2011, he cannot be extradited.
“The UK authorities alleged that the third brother is a member of an organised crime group without naming that alleged group. The accusations were fabricated against him just to confiscate his properties … besides the UK authorities failed to submit any proof to corroborate the allegedly committed crimes,” defended Ismail Al Zarouni.
The Cassation Court’s presiding judge Mustafa Ata Al Shennawi dismissed the request to extradite the brothers citing time lapse and because the request lacked copies of arrest warrants and arraignment sheets [against the trio] authenticated by the concerned authorities.
