Former Lagoons CEO cleared in bribe case

The former chief executive officer of Lagoons, a Sama Dubai project, was acquitted on Wednesday by a Dubai Court of charges against him in a Dh2.9 million bribery case.

The Dubai Court of First Instance absolved M.A, a 42-year-old Emirati, of any wrongdoing.

M.A. was accused of being in breach of his duties for allegedly requesting, as a bribe, five apartments worth Dh2.7m and Dh200,000 in cash from one of his company's clients.

He was also acquitted of charges of not protecting the rights of Sama Dubai and causing it to incur a purported loss of Dh137m.

A former Damac property development director and three other sales executives from Sama Dubai, who also faced several charges in the same case, were sentenced to jail for some of the charges held against them while acquitted for the rest of the charges.

The three Sama Dubai executives were M.A., a 41-year-old Emirati; N.Q., a 23-year-old Emirati; and M.S., a 28-year-old (who did not have documents), were sentenced to one year in jail and a joint fine of Dh1.35m.

They were convicted of taking Dh1.35m in bribes for unlawfully selling and reselling land belonging to Sama Dubai.

M.A. and M.S. were also sentenced to another year in jail for giving a Dh650,000 bribe to a fifth suspect, A.H., who is a former Damac property development director. A.H received a one-year sentence for accepting the bribe.

The three were also sentenced to pay a joint fine of Dh650,000 for this crime.

However, M.A., the company's sales manager, and N.Q., the sales adviser, were found not guilty of revealing the company's secrets by providing an investment house with details about their clients, as well as information and prices of properties owned by Sama Dubai.

M.A, N.Q and M.S were acquitted of taking three different bribes worth in Dh8.3m in total.

(Gulf News)