Dubai's Deyaar dismisses CEO in management sweep

Source: ArabianBusiness.com 8 April 2010
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UAE developer Deyaar on Thursday approved the dismissal of its CEO Markus Giebel, with immediate effect.
The company appointed Saeed Al Qatami as acting chief executive officer.
The appointment is part of an ongoing management restructuring being undertaken in line with the company’s long-term strategic objectives, Deyaar Development said in a press statement.Deyaar made this announcement following a resolution by the company’s Board of Directors approving the appointment of Al Qatami to this position, while also approving the dismissal of the previous CEO, Markus Giebel, with immediate effect.
Al Qatami, who has served at Deyaar since 2007, most recently held the title of Vice President – Business Development at the Dubai-headquartered property developer. In that role, he was primarily responsible for developing Deyaar’s business portfolio in the UAE. Al Qatami previously held a range of managerial positions at Dubai Islamic Bank, including Head of Wealth Management.
Prior to his appointment at Deyaar, Giebel served as the Chief Executive Officer of Dubai-based Vedera Capital where he was responsible for managing multiple real estate projects worth several billion dollars, both in the region and worldwide. He further founded Marasi, a Sharia-compliant real estate fund, in addition to leading several merger and acquisitions and private placement transactions for the firm.
Giebel previously served as the Vice President for Europe and the Middle East at Corning, a Fortune 500 company. Throughout his career, Giebel was presented with several awards and distinctions, including the Business Award from the German Ministry of Economic Affairs. He was awarded over 30 patents and holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the Switzerland Business School, and a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from University of Munich in Germany.
Calls to Geibel's mobile phone by Arabian Business on Thursday afternoon went answered.

Seven charged over alleged $501m Dubai fraud

From the Financial Times 9th March '09

Dubai's public prosecution has charged seven businessmen with crimes related to an alleged scheme to defraud Dubai Islamic Bank of $501m, official records show.

The bill of indictment, seen by the Financial Times, alleges the crimes were committed between 2004 and 2007 by two former employees of the bank and five businessmen linked to trade finance company CCH and a real estate project in Dubai, the Plantation.

The case, expected to go to court soon, is likely to become a high-profile test for the emirate's judicial system as questions swirl about the rule of law in the Gulf's commercial centre, hit hard by the global financial crisis.

The move, after an investigation of more than a year, lays the ground for the long-awaited conclusion of the DIB fraud case, central to a broader clean-up at state-linked companies, including DIB's real estate arm Deyaar.

International censure has mounted against the government's decision to hold without charge some executives for almost a year. Zack Shahin, former chief executive of Deyaar, has via US lawyers complained about his extended detention, claiming he had been tortured and was being victimised to protect senior locals.

The Dubai authorities countered saying the investigations have been carried out according to United Arab Emirates law.

The public prosecution document accuses Charles Ridley and Ryan Cornelius, both Britons, and Erin Nil, a Turk, of forging documents to defraud the bank of $501m via CCH, a trade finance company owned by Mr Nil and linked to Messrs Ridley and Cornelius.

The document alleges that the two former DIB executives, Rafatul Islam Usmani and Omair Mooraj, both Pakistanis, solicited and received bribes of $950,000 and $750,000, respectively, to facilitate the alleged embezzlement. The public prosecution document also claims that Zia Usmani, a US citizen, defrauded DIB of $2m.

Arthur Fitzwilliam, the British developer behind the polo-themed Plantation, is accused by the prosecution of aiding Messrs Nil, Ridley and Cornelius to carry out their alleged fraud. Mr Mooraj, who was working for JPMorgan when he was detained last year, is represented by Habib al-Mulla, who said: "We deny the accusations as matter of fact and law. We are going to defend him vigorously with all legal means."

Rafatul Islam Usmani's lawyer declined to comment. None of the other defence lawyers could be reached for comment.

Mr Mulla expects the cases to be heard at a Dubai court soon, but no date has been set. Two of the suspects, Mr Nil and Zia Usmani, have left the country, the document says.

DIB yesterday said it had made impairment provisions of Dh496m ($135m, €106m, £97.8m) related to its exposure to "CCH and related individuals". The bank said it had foreclosed on the Plantation and was pursuing other securities related to this transaction.

Other cases are moving to trial, lawyers say, including alleged financial irregularities at Sama Dubai and Mizin, property developers owned by Dubai Holding.