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Defence in Nakheel Case Wants to Quiz Man Who Gave ‘Bribe’

DUBAI — The defence counsel in the Nakheel bribery case maintained his request in the Court of Appeal on Sunday to hear the testimony of the Indian property buyer who allegedly offered a bribe to his client.

Hussein Al Jaziri, representing an Emirati former sales manager at Nakheel, stressed that he would want the court to summon the Indian witness who allegedly offered the bribe to 
his client.

Meanwhile, the court is still waiting for a letter from the Legal Department of the Ruler’s Court which would determine whether Nakheel is a private Joint Stock Company or belongs to the government and when it has joined Dubai World.

Earlier Al Jaziri told the Court of Appeal that the accusations against his client were groundless.

“He is accused of collecting a bribe while holding a public office. This is not true as he was not in a public position but rather assigned with doing functions for a joint stock company. Commissions under the law are allowed,” Al Jaziri argued.

The former sales manager is standing trial along with an Egyptian salesman on the charge of collecting a bribe of Dh5,134,000 while in their positions at the property developer.

The whole case, as per Al Jaziri, is fabricated and based on the allegations of an American sales consultant at Nakheel.

“He set the defendants up. The purchase operation of the plot was monitored closely by Nakheel administration, so how could it have been completed if it was not legal?” Al 
Jaziri argued.

The counsel stressed that the case still needs a proof to sustain that the commissions received could be called ‘bribes’. “The sale documents are crystal clear,” Al Jaziri said.

The Court of First Instance handed down on May 31 three years each in jail to an Egyptian salesman, 28, and an Emirati sales general manager, 32, as they were found guilty of collecting Dh 5,134,000 in bribes while working for the property developer.

The two were also ordered to pay a fine of Dh 3,081,000. The Egyptian was ordered deported after serving his jail term as per the court order.

The two defendants were accused of overcharging a company in the sale of a piece of land on the seafront of Palm Jebel Ali and taking the two per cent difference in the original price, worth more than Dh5 million as illegal commission for themselves during their work for Nakheel.

They allegedly split that amount and Dh134,000 with the American who reported them to Nakheel administration.

Saeed Al Guilani, representing the Egyptian salesman, maintained that the dates the American witness gave of the time the bribes were allegedly paid, were not precise, but were rather contradictory.

mary@khaleejtimes.ae

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