Dubai: Emirati business tycoon Abed Al Boom was sentenced to six months in jail for obstructing a legal receiver from auditing his assets and properties.
The Dubai Misdemeanour Court sentenced in absentia 43-year-old Al Boom after he was convicted of obstructing the Emirati legal receiver, S.A., from carrying out his task of auditing the defendant’s assets and properties.
Dubai Courts tasked S.A. and his two deputies with auditing Al Boom’s assets and properties in order to settle the debts of 3,695 depositors, who had invested their money with the accused.
In February the Dubai Cassation Court suspended all legal action against Al Boom and cancelled his 923-year imprisonment for defrauding 3,695 investors of nearly Dh900 million. It also halted all legal action against him.
S.A. testified that Dubai Courts appointed him and his two deputies as legal receivers to audit Al Boom’s assets and properties.
“When we went to Al Boom’s farm in Margham area, the workers tried to prevent us from walking into the premises. They only allowed us in after I warned them that I would call the police. We inspected several parts of the farm and then we entered a villa. We carried out our task but a few rooms were locked. I phoned up one of the judges, who granted me verbal permission to break down the door and carry out the law enforcement procedures. We broke down one door only and left after we finished our job. On our way out, Al Boom came in. He yelled at us and said we did not have the right to audit that farm because it was secluded from the court order to seize his properties,” claimed S.A.
The legal receiver alleged that Al Boom also told them “it’s better that you leave this place”.
Prosecutors said despite the fact that there were court orders to audit his assets and properties, the businessman maliciously obstructed the legal receiver from enforcing the law procedures.
The claimant said when he asked the defendant to open one of the closed doors, the latter refused.
“I called up the judge a second time and he ordered me to break down the door. I didn’t do so because I assumed that Al Boom would do something more than just yelling and throwing us out of his farm. We left immediately and I went and lodged a complaint against Al Boom for preventing us from executing the court orders,” S.A. told prosecutors.
One of S.A.’s assistants confirmed his statement.
Tuesday’s judgement remains subject to appeal within 15 days or a retrial considering that the verdict was made in absentia.
Al Boom’s lawyers had constantly argued before the court that his case fell beyond the criminal court’s jurisdiction as per the Ruler’s decree.
The Misdemeanour Court earlier sentenced Al Boom to three months in jail for each of the 3,695 counts of swindling and deception.
The Courts of Appeal and Cassation suspended all legal action against him and referred the case file to be handled by the special committee that was appointed upon the Ruler’s decree no 34 in 2009.
