Dubai: The Tamweel graft case involving five former executives who had earlier been convicted of abuse of office and committing financial irregularities that cost the company nearly Dh45 million concluded on Monday following five years of litigation.
The Dubai Cassation Court’s Presiding Judge Mohammad Nabeel Riyadh upheld over Dh45 million in fines and varying jail terms handed out to the defendants.
The five executives are Tamweel’s Emirati former CEO Adel Al Shirawi, his two countrymen — Abdullah Hussain, the former president of Tamweel’s commercial unit, and Sa’ad Abdul Razzak, the former executive director — besides two Jordanians, Firas Kalthoum, the ex-director of Tamweel’s investment department, and Bonyan Holding’s former board chairman Abdullah A’atatra.
Presiding Judge Riyadh rejected the appeals of Al Shirawi, Hussain, Kalthoum and Abdul Razzak. The verdict against A’atatra was not appealed.
The Tamweel graft case became one of the longest trials of its kind since the Dubai Government launched its campaign against corruption in 2008.
In June, the Appeal Court ordered Al Shirawi, A’atatra and Hussain to jointly pay a fine of Dh21.28 million. Al Shirawi and Hussain were also jointly fined Dh13.8 million and ordered to jointly repay an amount of Dh3.8 million to Tamweel.
Meanwhile, Abdul Razzak and Hussain were jointly fined Dh3.7 million and ordered to jointly repay Tamweel Dh3.7 million.
According to the appellate court judgement, Al Shirawi and Hussain were handed three-year prison terms. Abdul Razzak, Kalthoum and A’atatra were each handed one-year sentences.
It may be noted that the defendants have already served much of their sentence.
Gulf News is publishing the defendants’ names in accordance with the UAE’s publication law and since the verdict is now final. Monday’s judgement is irrevocable since it comes from Dubai’s highest court.
The appellate judgement was based on the report of a three-member committee of experts that reviewed the partnership deals signed between Tamweel and Bonyan in 2007. The court-appointed committee looked into all the case documents and papers before handing its report to the court following more than two years of investigations.
The committee included a financial auditor, an expert who specialises in valuing land and properties and a financial accountant.
The court authorised the committee to reinvestigate and revise all documents pertaining to the graft case.
The financial auditor from the Rulers Court’s Financial Control Department (FCD) chaired the committee which included an expert from the Department of Lands and Properties and a financial accountant listed with Dubai Courts. The committee evaluated how much the defendants paid to book plots of land and whether the plots were sold at a price consistent with that mentioned in the agreement signed between Tamweel and Bonyan on August 8, 2007. The committee also examined whether the prices reflected the market value and how much each defendant profited personally from the sale process and the losses suffered by Tamweel.
Prosecutors accused the five executives of committing financial irregularities to the tune of Dh45 million. The defendants had pleaded not guilty to the charges against them right through the trial process.
