Tuesday, Jun 30, 2015

Dubai: Deyaar’s ex-chief executive officer has once again proven his innocence following more than six years in court as on Tuesday he was cleared of abusing his office and misappropriating Dh30 million through an illegal tender.

The Dubai Appeal Court acquitted American-Lebanese Z.S. of abusing his former job as Deyaar’s CEO and committing financial irregularities by pushing through the illegal tender with Thermo, a construction services company.

Presiding judge Aysar Fouad acquitted Z.S. after overturning the previous ruling, according to which the former CEO was ordered to spend 10 years in jail and jointly pay a fine of Dh30 million with three other convicts.

In 2013, the Dubai Court of First Instance had sentenced in absentia a 61-year-old Argentinian, K.M, a partner in an information technology company, Thermo’s Canadian ex-project manager, F.L., and Thermo’s British ex-general manager, A.S., to 10 years in jail each for making illegal gains to the tune of Dh10 million from the tender.

Z.S. was sentenced to 15 years in jail, a ruling that was later reduced to ten years in jail.

The crime happened before 2009.

The case [known by the Thermo graft case] pended between the Courts of Appeal and Cassation four times between 2013 and 2015.

However it first surfaced before the Dubai Court of First Instance in December 2009.

Citing lack of corroborated evidence, presiding judge Fouad dismissed prosecutors’ appeal to uphold the primary ruling against Z.S. and cleared the latter of any wrongdoing.

Defending the former CEO before the appeal court, lawyer Nabih Badr contended: “My client did not commit any financial irregularity and acted as per the powers and authority granted to him during his tenure as Deyaar’s CEO [formerly]. He did not breach any of the company’s rules and did not forge any documents or appropriate any money.”

Z.S. is the only convict who remains in Dubai Central Jail pending other trials in another graft case, while K.M., F.L. and A.S. remain at large. In March 2014, the Dubai Cassation Court overturned the acquittal of Deyaar’s ex-CEO and referred the case back to the appellate court for a fresh trial [that issued the recent acquittal.

Meanwhile, in November 2013, the Appeal Court had scrapped a 15-year jail term and a Dh30 million fine against Z.S. and acquitted him of abusing his position and helping Thermo win a tender illegally so he could make a personal gain of Dh20 million.

Prosecutors had accused the defendants of deliberately inflicting losses on Deyaar, a company in which Dubai Government owns a stake.

Z.S. pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The former CEO had been in custody since April 2008 before he stood on various trials.

The appellate ruling [against Z.S.] remains subject to appeal before the Cassation Court within 28 days.

By Bassam Zaza Legal and Court ?Correspondent

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