ACI Group denies CEO has been jailed, fled UAE

ROBIN LOHMANN: German reports that CEO of ACI Group has been arrested in Dubai and forbidden to leave the country, have been firmly denied. (Getty Images)

UAE-based real estate broker ACI Group has denied stories in German business media that the company’s CEO Robin Lohmann has been jailed.

Trade title Financial Intelligence Service last week reported that Lohmann has been under investigation by the Dubai police.

The paper stated that four independent sources had confirmed Lohmann had been taken into custody for one night, had surrendered his passport to the authorities, and was not allowed to leave the country before the debts of ACI Dubai were settled.

Real estate companies have been battered by the collapse in property prices in the UAE, which has led to several master developments grinding to a standstill.

Sub developers with projects within these master developments have been battling to satisfy investors who have paid deposits for property that is not currently being built, while struggling to pay contractors on jobs that are ongoing.

Last week a senior executive of Khoie Properties, the developer behind a $550 million project on Ras al Khaimah’s man-made island of Al Marjan, was handed a three year jail sentence for bouncing two cheques totalling over $30 million.

An official from ACI, who spoke exclusively to Arabian Business but would not be named or directly quoted, said that reports in the German business press about Lohmann’s arrest, and rumours circulating in the Gulf that he had fled the country, were not true.

ACI Group is a German-based company that entered the Gulf market in 2004 with a multi-million dollar marketing programme for a succession of projects and established a glamorous headquarters - a large converted beach villa that overlooks the Arabian Gulf.

High profile projects in the emirate included tie-ups with F1 racing legend Michael Schumacher and former Wimbledon tennis champion Boris Becker.

The office is still functioning, as Arabian Business discovered when it visited the premises last week. Mr Lohmann was not available for a meeting and has not returned our calls.

A company spokesman mounted a robust defence for ACI, noting that, unlike many other developers who had already fled the country, ACI was still operating and construction work was ongoing. The company’s web site, he said, showed pictures of ongoing construction work that proved work is progressing.

There are 19 projects promoted on the web site, but only seven have “construction updates” that show progress on building sites.

The remainder, which includes the Boris Becker Beach Resort & Tennis Academy in Ras Al Khaimah, have no construction updates on the web site.

ACI said that no refunds were being paid to investors because projects have been postponed, not cancelled, but added that investors were not required to pay additional instalments until construction work restarted.

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READERS' COMMENTS

RERA For Urgent Action
Posted by ali, Dubai, UAE on Thursday 16 July 2009 at 15:07 UAE time


RERA this time to action and bring the market to old days. People trust is missing on all of these issues.

Wonder how many people would still fight me
Posted by Sam on Friday 10 July 2009 at 22:30 UAE time


Not going to tout "told you so", but I wonder would be thrashed by as many "Dubai is shooting up and defying all doubters" hounds as I was two years ago when we were screaming that the whole infrastructure system and actual market does not allow for such building to continue?

Al Rashed/Ajman
Posted by Gilbert, dubai, UAE on Wednesday 8 July 2009 at 17:06 UAE time

We invested with Al Rashed last year and so far and not a stone has been lifted - everything remains on paper. They failed to file with ARRA and are making no effort to refund or consolidate. What are the authorities waiting for? Why is more not being done to project investors? Its not rocket science - no project, money back. Innocent people trusted these developers and invested their hard earned money to build a future in Dubai. If Dubai cares ... now is the time to act and clamp down on these renegade developers to ensure the future of Dubai's real estate market.

Same Story - Different Developer (Schon Properties, Dubai Lagoon)
Posted by The Analyst on Wednesday 1 July 2009 at 00:47 UAE time

I have friends that have been pulled around since 2003 with these guys. 49 towers and they are just at the point where they have not completely built one tower, they have done a few floors of a FEW buildings! They are also being told conflicting stories of the Lagoon, the actual water surrounding, will not be done. These buyers have gone to RERA, compained to the Rulers Court, and nothing happens. The owners of Schon have even been allowed to continue selling off plan in other parts of the UAE with all these problems of non compliance of building. It's a shame because it looks like RERA is protecting these developers because if they actually went in and closed them down and put them in jail, how will the project finish, or where will the money come from to pay back the almost $1 BILLION Schon has taken. In order to bring back consumer confidence, the government needs to go in and close these developers down. The people I know are not multi=millionaires but hard working people the Schon Properties - Dubai Lagoon, have taken for a ride.
Cheers to all!

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