Court dismisses objection to
expert panel in Tamweel case

DUBAI — The Court of Appeal on Wednesday turned down a request by a defence lawyer in a Tamweel graft case not to include any expert from the Financial Control Department of the Ruler’s Court on the audit expert committee the court had ordered to be formed to look into the facts of the case.

By Mary Nammour

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Published: Thu 25 Nov 2010, 11:01 PM

Last updated: Mon 6 Apr 2015, 4:09 PM

Presiding Judge Moustapha Shinawi granted time till December 8 to the former CEO of Tamweel to pay Dh60,000 worth of fees for the committee which had been ordered to be formed.

Defence lawyer Dr Habibi Al Mulla urged the judge that the committee, which was assigned with looking into the facts of the case and drawing up a report, be independent of the Financial Control Department. “The Financial Control Department had already had its say in the case report submitted to the court. We want another expert committee to be put in charge, whether governmental or not, federal or local,” Al Mulla said.

In the last hearing, Judge Shinawi ordered that the committee must comprise an audit expert from the Ruler’s Court, a land assessment expert from the Land Department and another accredited expert from the Dubai Courts to examine the details of the deals, subject of the case, and prepare the report.

The case involves two former top executives of Tamweel (Emiratis), who are accused of collecting bribes worth more than Dh41 million while purchasing plots in Sama Al Jaddaf project at their cost price and then reselling them at a higher price.

It also involves an Emirati former member of the Tamweel board, a Jordanian former director of Investment Department in Tamweel and a Jordanian former chairman of a private real estate company.

Shinawi had set December 22 as the date for the report to be submitted to court. On May 30, the Court of First Instance sentenced the former CEO of Tamweel and his deputy to three-year imprisonment each. The court also fined them jointly Dh14.4 million and ordered them to return Dh4.3million jointly.

They are also accused of embezzling Dh13.8million by purchasing and reselling other plots, damaging Tamweel’s interests.

The former deputy CEO and the former member of the board (who is also former CEO of Dubai Islamic Bank) are accused of causing Tamweel a loss of more than Dh3.6million by purchasing a plot for less than the market value and reselling it.

They were sentenced to pay jointly a fine of Dh3.6million and to return jointly the same amount to Tamweel.

mary@khaleejtimes.com


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