ACI Real Estate Dubai also insolvent ?

Dubai Property buyers who purchases units from the Dubai based developer Alternative Capital Invest (ACI) have received notices from the the liquidator in Germany. 

The letter said that investors who purchases units at ACI should file claims as part of the liquidation of several funds in Germany. Several funds of ACI filed bankruptcy in mid 2010 in Germany. 

The bankruptcy proceedings of those funds will provide an important
guide for how property developments with complex financing arrangements
and ownership structures are dealt with as thousands of legal cases
over property go through the courts in Dubai and abroad, lawyers say.

None of ACI 17 projects in Dubai have ever been completed.

ACI sold this projects through direct sales from its office in Dubai and several investmentfunds in Germany and Austria.
According to German press, up to 8,000 investors paid close to 210 million into the fund all told, and the German public prosecution is investigating ACI after fraud charges were filed by a number of investors. Dubai-based investors have received notices in the past week to file claims as part of the liquidation, reports the National. Ludmila Yamalova, a managing partner at HPL Yamalova & Plewka in Dubai, told the paper, “What is interesting is that the fund in Germany is being liquidated, but direct buyers of properties in Dubai are being notified as well. We interpret that as ACI Dubai also being insolvent.”

source KippReport
and The National

Please Dubai stand up for justice - Safi Qurashi

The letter below is from Safi Qurashi where he
has beatifully explained who actually has broken the law and who has
been labelled a criminal.

Safi Qurashi in the letter below has given a clear analogy of how in
his case the victim has become the criminal and the criminal has become
the victim!

source Justiceformydad.com

Imagine the following scenario:

A thief breaks into your house, tries to steal your belongings and whilst he is trying to steal you wake up, catch him and lock him in one of your rooms and call the police. The thief, knowing that he is in trouble also calls the police. The police arrive at your home.

Now there are laws that have been broken:

1.    Law says it is a crime to lock someone up in a room without their will
2.    Law also says that stealing is a crime
3.    Law states that breaking into a house is a crime
4.    Law says lying to the police is a crime
5.    Law says you are allowed to protect yourself against a thief.

Imagine that when the police arrive you, the homeowner are arrested, because of Law Number 1 whereas all other laws are ignored.

Imagine when arrested the police only ask you that did you lock a man in your house and upon saying “yes” you are sent to prison.
Imagine the police, prosecution and courts never asking the thief what he was doing in the house!
Imagine you have CCTV proving he broke into your house, you have several eye witnesses who say they saw the thief breaking into your house.
Imagine you have have proof that he had already loaded his car with your belongings which he had stolen and was about to get away, but the judge refused to allow you to present these facts, denied your witnesses and never once questioned the thief if his story was true.

Imagine the thief getting away with his crime and stealing your belongings and you get sentenced to 7 years in prison!

Can you imagine this?  Is this justice?
Does a modern society with a legal system call this a fair judicial process?

For 11 months my family have been trying to find someone in Dubai who can understand this point, but because the courts are so heavily in favour of
sentencing those accused of bouncing cheques no consideration was given
to my evidence.

All we hear is that the law has been broken, we don’t care about the reasons behind it , you signed the cheque? Do they mean they don’t care that someone tried to cheat me, they don’t care that someone lied to the police, prosecutor and judge, they don’t care that maybe the bank or at least one of its staff acted fraudulently, they don’t care if a lawyer broke the law, they don’t care about all the
evidence I have to support my claim, they don’t care about the fact that my cheques are not bounced cheques!!!!!

We have heard the prosecutor say why didn’t I let him steal from me and let him get away and then I should have called the police! Really!
You see a crime and don’t stop it, is this the poicy of crime prevention or has crime prevention become a crime in itself?

How can so many laws be ignored to uphold 1 law?
How can crucial evidence be ignored?
How can an obvious criminal act be ignored?
How can perjury not be a crime?
Why was my judicial process so one sided?

Anybody and everybody around the world who takes 5 minutes to read my case evidence comes to one conclusion….That I am innocent

Here are some facts:
1.Bank  confirms that cheques were NOT Valid for payment partly
becuase they  were stopped by the police and therefore never BOUNCED
2. Police report filed against the complainer
3.Audit Trail Showing money to the seller with bank receipts and proof of payment
4. Transfer Document showing that the buyer had requested to transfer property into their name
5. Valid Agreements and MOU’
6. UAE Commercial transactions Laws that protect business transactions are being ignored
7. The intent has to be there to break the law, if the evidence
proves that no intent was there then why is it that the judicial system
has labeled me a criminal?

I for one agree that if you break the Law then you should understand the consequences, but if I did not break the Law then why am I in jail?

We can prove that Penal Code 401 was not broken since the bank never cashed or bounced the cheque but instead returned them as invalid, but no-one wants to listen because apparently it’s too late!

Me and my family were repeatedly told  to rely on the courts process , our lawyers and the appeals system! We placed our trust in the system but there has been a misacarriage of justice and I am hoping the Dubai Authorities will investigate and bring the real criminals to the stand.

I am asking the authorities that govern the judicial syste in the
U.A.E to review my evidence, please speak to my family, my legal
representatives and question the complainants. 

I ask the courts to
question Nakheel and Emirates NBD and check all the financial
documentation and Agreements.

Dubai is a beautiful Emirate and it has achieved so much.

Your vision, I shared. Your values I shared, but today 3 innocent men are behind bars and the trust I placed in the judiciary system has let me down.

The system has been manipulated and abused by criminals and they have gotten away clean and free!

Please Dubai stand up for justice and free Dubai from those

who abuse it’s laws and falsely imprison innocent people and punish
them severly for they are openly mocking the judicial system of one the
most popular, safest, multi-cultural and dynamic cities in the World,
which is governed by one of the greatest visionary Rulers!

Safi Qurashi

Dubai Damac lawsuit before Dubai International Financial Court

A judge has ruled part of an investor's lawsuit filed against the Dubai developer Damac Properties may be heard by the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Courts.

Lothar Hardt's closely watched suit against the developer is believed to be the largest filed against a developer in the emirate.

"I think this is very important for Dubai &" Mr Hardt said yesterday. "So far everything has been left in the dark."

Mr Hardt claims he invested US$9.7 million (Dh35.6m) in five Damac projects: Park Towers at the DIFC; Water's Edge and Lotus Residences at Business Bay; Wildflower at Jumeirah Golf Estates; and Ocean Heights at Dubai Marina.

His suit charges the developer with a range of alleged infractions including failing to deliver the projects on time, mismanaging escrow accounts and failing to register transactions with Dubai's Land Department.

One of the developments, Lotus Residences, was built on land controlled by the UN, he alleges.

Mr Hardt, who was listed as a Damac "VIP investor", is asking for the return of his $9.7m as well as damages.

A Damac spokesman declined to comment.

continue reading.....

source The National December 2010

Rera Dubai-A lot of cancellations in 2011

Arabian Business EXCLUSIVE: Poor Dubai building quality will damage market – Bin Ghalaita

Arabian Business EXCLUSIVE: Master developers ‘damaging’ Dubai property sector – RERA

Arabian Business EXCLUSIVE: Homeowners’ charges ‘should be reduced’ for poor service – RERA CEO Bin Ghalaita

Arabian Business EXCLUSIVE: Investors should use force majeure to withhold payments – RERA

Arabian Business EXCLUSIVE: RERA yet to prosecute a single developer – CEO bin Ghalaita

Arabian Business EXCLUSIVE: “There is a limit to transparency” – RERA boss Bin Ghalaita

Arabian Business EXCLUSIVE: “You’ll see a lot of cancellations in 2011” – RERA boss Bin Ghalaita

Arabian Business EXCLUSIVE: Two billion dirhams spent from Dubai escrow accounts – RERA boss Bin Ghalaita

source Arabian Business

Dubai Rera has only 1.36 Billion left in escrow account

Dubai’s Real Estate Regulatory Agency has only 5 Billion dirhams ($1.36 billion) remaining out of 7 billion dirhams originally deposited in escrow account it manages on behalf of buyers of yet-to-be-built properties, Arabian Business reported, citing Marwan bin Ghalaita, head of the regulatory body

RERA, which oversees the account and disburses money to developers during construction, has barred payments except those directed to contractors to pay for construction, the Dubai-based magazine said, citing RERA chief Marwan Bin Ghalita.

Read also: You will see a lot of cancellations in 2010 - Marwan bin Ghalaita

and      There is a limit to transparency - Marwan bin Ghalaita CEO RERA Dubai

UAE Developer Al Murjan Real Estate files bankruptcy

Al-Murjan Real Estate LLC, United Arab Emirates company equally owned by Umm Al-Quwain’s deputy ruler, Sheikh Abdullah bin Rashid Al Mualla, and Al Khalijia
Investments LLC, cited failure to get government approval for the project and defaults by “nearly 50 percent of the buyers.

Al Murjan Real Estate the owner of White Bay, an 8,000-home community in theemirate of Umm Al-Quwain, filed for bankruptcy in a federal court and two liquidators have been appointed following a lawsuit brought by one of the owners, according to documents provided by Ludmila Yamalova, a partner at HPLYamalova & Plewka JLT representing three buyers in White Bay.

Read More Financial Times

Dubai Developer Safi Qurashi begs Queen for help

Safi Qurashi was a successful property developer.Until he was convicted of bouncing $80 million in checks by a court in Dubai and was sentenced to seven years in jail recently. Now he's begging Queen Elizabeth to save him, the Evening Standard reports.

Queen Elizabeth arrived in the UAE yesterday on a state visit, and Qurashi wants her to save him, since she happens to be in town.
So he wrote the Queen a letter that has been published in the Telegraph UK
Here's what he writes in his letter:

My life took a dramatic turn on Friday 15th January 2010, when two plain clothed officers arrested me for bouncing a cheque and took me to CID headquarters. I was held for eight hours in a cell... No phone calls. No lawyer.There I was kept handcuffed to a chair for another 8 hours. No-one spoke English. I was asked two questions: myname and whether I signed two cheques. When I answered yes, I was sent to Port Rashid jail at 4am. I got a new lawyer who spent five minuteswith me. When I said surely he needed input from me, he responded "thisis not England, we do things our way"... There were two hearings eachone a minute long. Two questions were asked and I was sentenced: a seven year jail term. I realized that the judge had neither read nor reviewed any of the evidence. He did not establish whether I actually broke the law. A cheque bounced. Nothing else was considered.

Qurashi says his family, who he moved to Dubai from London six years ago, are suffering "mental torture" because of his imprisonment.
Read more in The Evening Standard

ACI Real Estate Dubai I dont know Robin Lohmann

Page III

Aci Story Page IV

Page 5 Page 6

original source Spectator Business Issue October 2010

Journalist and Press blamed by Dubai Rera chief

Ironically, Ghalita’s comments come amidst reports
source Kippreport - Its all our Fault- by Eva Fermandes
It seems everyone’s favourite scapegoat has yet another cross to bear. A recent statement from a RERA official has blamed irresponsible reporting by the media for the “damage” suffered by Dubai’s real estate industry.
Speaking at a conference, RERA (Real Estate Regulatory Agency) official Marwan bin Ghalita said, “The real estate
sector in Dubai has been hurt by the journalists and media publishing  incorrect data on the market.
The media is blamed for rising real estate prices… as correct data has never been published… They did not
check the accuracy… did not get the correct information which is one of the prime foundations for making any decision. Journalists did not approach official sources to get the right picture.”

I find it interesting that, in light of court cases like this, some still see fit to blame the media for the mess that is the Dubai property sector. Perhaps the unrealistically ambitious and greedy property developers could take a smidgen of the blame as well?

I remember the days when huge construction projects were being announced on a monthly basis. In fact at the peak of the real estate boom, Emirates 24/7reports
Dubai had over 850 registered developers; a figure that has slipped down to a more sober 500 over the past couple of (humbling) years. In addition to the overabundance of developers, we clearly had too many
projects. Emirates 24-7 observes that the Government of Dubai’s bond prospectus, filed at the London Stock Exchange, suggests that a total of 495 registered property projects have now either been cancelled, are
in the process of being cancelled, or have work which has been otherwise stopped.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think the media can claim to be completely innocent (we were too eager to believe in the Dubai dream, and too timid to question the crazy growth), so we aren’t that
surprised with RERA’s convictions. But after the judicial, legislativeand executive branches, the media has been accused of being the fourth branch of the government (thanks to its softly-softly approach to the
Dubai economy and government). If anyone believed that, the ease with which we now shoulder the blame should make them re-think.

The media constantly comes under fire for pretty much everything: the Iraq War, the onset of teenage depression, the status of woman’s body image, to name just a few. The slow speed at which paint dries is
probably our fault somewhere along the line as well. Often these accusations are welcome, as they are maliciously motivated and imply weare (to some degree) fulfilling our role of watchdog. But for RERA,
there are surely more productive ways it can invest its time.

Dubai 50 per cent of property projects cancelled

source Arabian Business
Dubai’s government cancelled almost half of the real estate projects planned in the emirate after the credit crisis caused demand to collapse and a housing glut drove down home prices.

Out of 980 registered projects, 495 were scrapped or are in the process of being cancelled by the emirate’s Real Estate Regulatory Agency the government said in a bond prospectus posted on the London Stock Exchange website on Monday.

Sanctions against Iran Human Rights abuses - Hillary Clinton

source CNN

Citing "mounting evidence" of repression of the Iranian opposition,the Obama administration added more sanctions against Iranian government officials, members of the Revolutionary Guards Corps and

others accused by the United States of being responsible for human rights abuses.

The sanctions, announced Wednesday by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, block the assets of, and prohibit U.S. citizens from engaging in any business
with, those on the list, which includes the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps, the country's prosecutor general, and the ministers of welfare and intelligence."On these officials'watch or under their command Iranian citizens have been arbitrarily,beaten, tortured, raped, blackmailed and killed," Clinton said. "Yet the Iranian government has ignored repeated calls from the international community to end these abuses, to hold to account those responsible, and respect the rights and fundamental freedoms of its
citizens." "Today we declare our solidarity with their victims and with all Iranians who wish for a government that respects their human rights and their dignity and their freedom," she said.

Geithner emphasized the measures would not harm the whole country, rather the sanctions were designed to target those who engage in behavior that harms the Iranian people."We have found that when we single out Iran's bad actors and expose their illicit conduct--banks, businesses, and governments around the world respond by cutting off dealings with these individuals, groups and businesses," he said, adding the measures
would send a message across the world about the risks to continued business with Iran, just as with the recent sanctions against Iran's nuclear business.

The US has been increasing its criticism of Iran's goverment's human rights record since President Mahmoud
Amhadinejad's disputed landslide election victory unleashed massivedemonstrations in the country. Iran's leaders called the uprising a foreign-led plot to overthrow the regime. It cracked down on the
protesters, with many killed and even more jailed. Images of the bloody crackdown fueled worldwide outrage.

Clinton said that new legislation passed earlier this year gives the administration tools to impose sanctions against Iranian officials where there are credible evidence against them. But she acknowledged the administration was "also very mindful" since last year's election about messages from the
opposition about keeping a low profile.

"We had to be careful that this indigenous opposition that we certainly had nothing to do with, that was attempting to stand up for the rights of the Iranian people, was not somehow seen as a U.S. enterprise, because it wasn't," she said, adding: "And so walking that line in trying to be both encouraging, forthright and strong in our support of the fundamental rights and freedoms of the Iranian people, at the same time not giving
any reason for the Iranians to claim that this reaction from within was somehow either motivated or directed or connected with us, required a balancing act.

The order targets Mohammad Ali Jafari, Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC); Sadeq Mahsouli, current minister of welfare and security and former minister of the Interior; Qolam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, current prosecutor general of Iran and former minister of intelligence; Saeed Mortazavi, former
prosecutor-general of Tehran; Heydar Moslehi, minister of Intelligence; Mostafa Mohammad Najjar, current minister of the Interior and former deputy commander of the armed forces for law enforcement; Ahmad-Reza
Radan, deputy chief of Iran's National Police; and Hossein Taeb, current deputy IRGC commander for intelligence and former commander of the IRGC's Basij Forces.

Dear Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum od Dubai

Sara Qurashi has written an Eid Letter to Sheikh Mohammed. The 11 year old Girl from Dubai is still waiting for an answer, an reaction or a gesture of his Highness.

ACI Dubai Funds filed bankruptcy in Germany

source nw-news
Gütersloh / Bielefeld, Germany (dpa).
Several companies from real estate funds in Dubai, under the umbrella of the Gütersloh investment company ACI have registered on Friday for bankruptcy.  In this act it is the companies of the Fund II to V and the ACI IV Beteiligungs GmbH, said the district court of Bielefeld. A temporary administrator will probably determined on Monday, it said.  File number has not yet been awarded.
The company had previously announced bankruptcy.  ACI-founder Uwe Lohmann had stressed that the reason is the falling price of real estate in Dubai.
continue  reading original text in german ....

Full report update source The National
Berlin // German prosecutors have confirmed they are investigating
the management of Alternative Capital Invest (ACI), the biggest German
property investment fund in Dubai, amid allegations of fraud. The
company had declared bankruptcy on four of its investment funds.

“An investigation has been launched against executives of the company ACI
for alleged capital investment fraud and breach of trust,” Heinrich
Rempe, a senior prosecutor in Bielefeld, western Germany, told The
National last night.

“The company set up investment funds in Germany with the purpose of
entering into investments in Dubai. The investigation is focusing on
alleged false information given in the prospectus the company issued
for its funds.”

Mr Rempe said ACI had a total of seveninvestment funds and that four of them, numbered II to V, had filed for insolvency. He said the investigation had been going on for several months.

“The probe is still at an early stage,” Mr Rempe added.

ACI declined to comment.

According to Handelsblatt, a leading German business newspaper, ACI had collected about €210 million (Dh1 billion) from about 6,000 investors in its
various funds to invest in constructing high-rise developments in Dubai.

Handelsblatt said Bielefeld prosecutors were investigating the founder of ACI, Hanns-Uwe Lohmann, and his son Robin, and that ACI’s headquarter in the western German town of Guetersloh had been searched in June.

Lohmann has denied the allegations. German media quoted him as saying
the projects ACI had invested in were unfinished and the slump in Dubai
property prices had forced the company to make “unavoidable balance
sheet write-downs of the book values”.

Mr Lohmann has resigned as the chief executive of ACI.
ACI is engaged in several development and property projects in Dubai and was best known for its concept of “tower branding”.

The fund company was planning towers named after celebrities such as
the Formula 1 drivers Michael Schumacher and Niki Lauda, and the tennis
champion Boris Becker. Huge advertisement campaigns ran throughout Dubai until 2008 before the property market reached its peak.ACI
told investors in a recent letter that while its Dubai Fonds II to V
had declared bankruptcy, the latest funds Dubai Fonds VI and VII had
not. Fonds I had been closed at an earlier date, and €13.5m had been
paid out to investors.Media reports said ACI had expected to realise projects worth more than €600m in Dubai before the financial situation deteriorated.

ACI developments include the Dubai Star tower in Jumeirah Lake Towers for
which a new contractor is being sought, according to a statement by ACI
Real Estate in Dubai.
The Q Sami tower and Victory Bay in Business Bay are also seeking new contractors. The PKS Residences and the Mayfield Gardens projects in Jumeirah Village have been put on hold, along with the Niki Lauda, Boris Becker and Michael Schumacher towers and the Wings of Arabia project in Dubailand.

Progress on the Ferretti and Pershing Beach Residences on Waterfront
have also ground to a halt, although they were slated for completion by
next year.

ACI claims that some of the projects have already been sold.
Earlier this year, ACI tried unsuccessfully to sell other assets as potential
buyers cancelled deals. Mr Lohmann blamed this on “intrigues” by
competitors and unfavourable reports in the media.

Dubai aircraft crash UPS Statement on Incident

September 04, 2010

A UPS cargo plane has been involved in an accident in Dubai. At the request of the families, UPS can now confirm that two of our

crewmembers, Captain Doug Lampe of Louisville, Kentucky, and First
Officer Matthew Bell of Sanford, Florida, lost their lives in the crash
of Flight 6 yesterday, Sept. 3, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

The two pilots were flying a 747-400 en route to Cologne, Germany, when it crashed near Dubai International Airport shortly after takeoff.
"This is a terrible tragedy, and all of us at UPS extend our deepest sympathies to the families and friends of both of these crewmembers," said UPS CEO Scott Davis. "Our thoughts and prayers will continue to be with them during this difficult time."
The UPS Family Assistance Team is working with the victims' families to help them in their time of need.
Captain Lampe, 48, has been with UPS since 1995. First Officer Bell, 38, has been with UPS since 2006. Both crewmembers flew out of UPS's Anchorage, Alaska domicile, or pilot base.
The aircraft, tail number N571UP, was just three years old, entering UPS service off the Boeing production line in September 2007. The airframe had flown 9977 hours, completing 1764 takeoffs and landings. It was up to date on all maintenance, having just completed a major inspection in June 2010.

UPS owns 12 747-400s, eight of which are new, and four of which have
been purchased from other carriers and adapted for UPS use. The aircraft, which has a payload capacity of nearly 258,600 pounds, is used on long-range international routes, such as the regular Dubai-Cologne routing.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is dispatching an aviation investigation team to assist the General Civil Aviation Authority (GACC) of the United Arab Emirates in the crash investigation.

The GCAA will take the lead on the investigation and release all
information on the progress of the investigation.

NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman has designated senior air safety investigator Bill English as the U.S. accredited representative. His team will include NTSB specialists in the areas of human performance, fire, operations and systems. The team will also include technical advisors from the FAA, Boeing, UPS, GE and the Independent Pilots Association.

A UPS team has arrived in Dubai at this time and will cooperate with authorities in the investigation.
"We established an internal command center within minutes of learning of this tragedy. It will be staffed around the clock with experts from every part of our operation," said UPS Airlines President Bob Lekites.

"Safe, secure operations are our top priorities for our employees, our customers, and our public stakeholders."

source UPS

Dubai court Fraud Case Dynasty Zarooni - Ebony Ivory Towers Al Fajer Properties

source Emirates Business 247

The Dubai Court of Appeal heard on Thursday two cases related to Dynasty Zarooni in which the company, its
owners and executive are accused of defrauding property investors of a total of Dh1.2 billion.

In the first case, the court, which was supposed to give a verdict regarding a request made by 36 investors for instating defrauding accusation, adjourned the case to September 23 for verdict as one of the three accused failed to attend the hearing.

In 2009, the plaintiffs had filed complaints claiming that Dynasty Zarooni, the company’s partner, CEO and managing director, Kabir Mulchandani, and its
British executive, RG, had sold investors plots of land that did not exist. The case was dismissed by the prosecution after reviewing a report handed in by a property market expert assigned by the accused.

The plaintiffs challenged the decision considering that flawed investigations were conducted.

Al Shaali and Company, representing the plaintiff, submitted in an earlier hearing his defence saying the prosecution combined non-related complaints filed to police against Dynasty Zarooni into one case and failed to investigate the property fraud.
In the second case, the 36 local and overseas investors appealed the acquittal sentence awarded in the favour of Dynasty Zarouni, its
Emirati partner Hilal Zarooni, CEO and managing director and executive on May 30.

The subject of this case was that the company and its officials have set up a bogus investment portfolio and promised them hefty returns and defrauded investors of Dh893 million.

They complained that KM received subscription fees of Dh300,000 a
month from 12 members of the so-called "investment club" with a promise
of hefty monthly returns six months after investing their money in real
estate projects, which they claimed they did not receive.

They also claimed that there were no escrow accounts for projects they had invested in.

Besides, they complained that the accused made announcements
regarding projects( Jumeirah Business Centre 6,7,8,9 or Ebony and Ivory Towers) contrary to reality. Some projects claimed to be in
construction proved to be sandy lands.

The sentence of the Court of First Instance was based on a report presented to the court by the defence lawyer proving that investors had received more than Dh232m in profits.

Lawsuit Lombard vs Emaar USA

Lombard v. Emaar USA