Former minister, company CEO charged

COURT DATE: Two high profile figures have been charged with allegedly seizing public money and harming state interests. (AFP)

A former minister and a former chief executive of a Dubai property developer were charged on Wednesday with seizing public money and harming state interests, the official WAM state news agency reported.

Mohammed Khalfan Kharbash, a UAE state minister for finance and industry from 2004 to 2008, and US citizen Zack Shahin were referred to the criminal court in a case involving Deyaar Development, WAM said, quoting Dubai Attorney General Issam al-Humaidan.

Shahin has been in custody since March 2008 without being formally charged.

The prosecution claimed in late February that Shahin and other suspects had embezzled more than 98 million dirhams ($27 million).

Shahin is among several executives from high-profile Dubai firms being held on suspicion of embezzlement.

Humaidan said Kharbash has been charged with "seizing public money and harming state interests, in addition to aiding the second defendant (Shahin) in seizing sums belonging to Deyaar," WAM reported.

Shahin was charged with "the (above) mentioned crimes in addition to taking bribes," it added.

John D'Cunha, an Indian who is reportedly a former operations director at Deyaar and remains at large, was named in the same case, WAM said.

Kharbash was also chairman of Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB), two former executives of which are accused along with five businessmen of involvement in a scheme to defraud the bank of 501 million dollars between 2004 and 2007.

Deyaar, established in 2001 as a subsidiary of DIB, was initially called Global Real Estate Development Company before being rebranded in 2004 as Deyaar Development.

It describes itself on its website as one of the largest real estate companies in the Middle East, with a capital of 1.6 billion dollars after stock market flotation in May 2007, and with projects in both the UAE and abroad.

Humaidan said two other cases branched out of the Deyaar case, following "extensive investigations".

The first involved UAE national and former Deyaar board member Saad Mohammed Sharif Abdul Razak, who was charged with taking bribes, and his compatriot businessman Ismael Aqeel al-Janahi, who allegedly paid him, WAM added.

The second case was referred to the court of misdemeanor on charges of breach of trust, fraud and forgery against Shahin and D'Cunha and seven others.

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