June 17, 200
Al-Boom: The delay in disbursing depositors’ rights was due to factors beyond my control. Photography: Mostafa Qasimi
The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the “Al-Boom Holding Company”, Abed Raei Al-Boom, acknowledged yesterday that he had stopped paying sums of money to depositors, justifying this by the fact that the Dubai Police seized 13 title deeds for his company, distributed among lands, buildings and hotel apartments, when the Dubai Police asked to comment on that. And he said
Al-Boom «The delay in disbursing the rights of depositors came due to factors beyond his control, represented in the seizure by the Dubai Police of the title deeds of the group’s assets, including lands, buildings and hotel apartments.
He added, in an exclusive interview with «Emirates Today», that he will submit a detailed memorandum addressed to the Public Prosecutor in Dubai, explaining the company’s position and the circumstances that led to his stopping the payment of monthly profits to depositors, which is mainly due to the Dubai Police’s retention of the 13 property assets.
And he stressed that “the Attorney General will be required to return these assets that were seized without a legal basis for the company and give it a specific deadline to end all the company’s obligations to depositors.”
Al-Boom pledged to pay all the rights of the depositors within a period not exceeding four months in the event that the company was granted the right to manage and dispose of its assets in accordance with controls determined by the Public Prosecutor, and in the event that he did not comply, he would accept any legal measures taken by the Public Prosecution against him.
He continued, “Dubai Police confiscated my passport and title deeds eight months ago, and I had to sell a number of personal assets, and I was able to pay the dues of 50% of my depositors, but I was unable to pay the rest of the dues due to my inability to dispose of the company’s assets.”
Al-Boom added: “I have been managing this real estate portfolio for more than four years, and throughout this period, none of the depositors filed a complaint against me, and I was committed to paying the profits and the rights of depositors with the testimony of everyone, but problems arose for reasons beyond my control.”
The beginning of problems
And Al-Boom talked about the beginning of the problems, saying: “The problem occurred when the issue of unlicensed portfolios was raised, as competitors filed a malicious complaint against me about my carrying out “money laundering” operations through the company’s investments abroad, and the complainant wanted Abed Al-Boom’s investments to stop and stop The success that was achieved, and due to this incorrect information, I received a call from the Economic Crimes Department at the Dubai Police General Command to inquire about some financial matters. Indeed, I met with officials of the Central Bank and officers of the Economic Crimes Department, and after checking, no violations were found against me, and investigations proved that. ».
He added, “After that, I met with a committee consisting of a representative of the Department of Economic Development and the Central Bank on Monday, January 21, and the committee explicitly acknowledged that there are no accusations or suspicions against me, especially the issue of money laundering, but there are some violations represented in the fact that I manage a portfolio.” investment without obtaining a license for this portfolio, despite obtaining a license from the Economic Department that grants authority in real estate investment.
And Al-Boom continued: “The value of only two property contracts seized by the Dubai Police is sufficient to pay off all the assets of the depositors, and I have repeatedly requested the delivery of the company’s title deeds because their seizure from the original was not legal, as there is no decision from the Public Prosecution regarding that, There is no original case against Abed Al-Boom in person or in his capacity, just as the committee formed by the Central Bank and the Economic Department did not recommend seizing the properties of the Al-Boom Company.
He pointed out that «despite the many promises that I received from the Dubai Police to return these properties and give me the right to dispose of the assets owned by the company so that I could liquidate them and pay the money of the depositors, nothing happened and I was given one contract for a piece of land that I sold along with a number of From my assets, and I paid the money of almost half of the depositors, so that the total amounts that I have refunded amounted to about 138 million dirhams so far.
He concluded by saying: “All I want is to grant the right to dispose of the assets of the company whose title deeds have been seized by the Dubai Police, and I am ready for any controls that are put in place to guarantee the rights of depositors.”
Illegal behavior
For his part, Abed Al-Boom’s lawyer and legal advisor at Al-Kamali Law Firm and Legal Consultations, Nasser Hashem, said: “The Dubai Police’s seizure of Abed Al-Boom’s title deeds is illegal because it took place without a decision from the prosecution, or the existence of any case against Abed Al-Boom in person or in his capacity.”
He added, “The seizure of title deeds harmed the depositors, as it led to the inability of my clients to pay the money of the depositors who requested their money back.” He pointed out that «preparing a memorandum for the Attorney General in Dubai came after the unjustified refusal by the Dubai Police to return the property deeds to the company, and at the same time demand a specific time to provide evidence that all depositors have received their money».
For his part, the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Dubai Police, Major General Khamis Al-Muzaina, told “Emirates Today” that “the police did not receive any reports or complaints against the (Al-Boom Holding) company.” In response to the attachment of the company’s bonds and assets, he said, “I have no comment on what is being raised about this issue.”
Commitment to pay
Ali Ibrahim, Deputy Director General for Executive Affairs at the Department of Economic Development in Dubai, revealed that “the department is currently coordinating with several government agencies to supervise the payment of financial dues to depositors in the investment portfolio of the Abed Al-Boom company, through joint committees.” The payment will be made in consecutive installments.
In statements to “Emirates Today”, Ibrahim confirmed that “there are no concerns about paying the financial dues of the (Al-Boom) depositors in light of Abed Al-Boom’s commitment to pay.”
He added, “The department has not received any complaints in the recent period from depositors about the company’s refusal to pay their financial dues,” explaining that “Abed Al-Boom committed himself before the department and the special government committees to follow up the case and pay the dues of the depositors, and that he had already started paying the money in installments.” .
He pointed out that “Abed Al-Boom owns several licenses from the department to practice commercial and real estate activities, but he did not obtain any licenses to establish an investment portfolio to operate the funds of depositors or shareholders.”
He pointed out that “this case was not the first that the department followed up, as there were other cases of companies that had portfolios to operate depositors’ funds for about five years in Dubai, and they were liquidated after paying the depositors’ dues.”
http://www.emaratalyoum.com/local-section/2008-06-17-1.199697