Question: I was contacted by a company offering an investment that looks like a great opportunity. If I send them Dh200,000 ($54,458), they promise to offer a return of 3 per cent per month after the first two months. They also promise to return my entire investment after three years.
The company says it is established in India and has recently set up in the UAE, with claims to have government backing. They have a smart office, however, I am concerned because they are pushing me to write a cheque to the company owner. When I asked why it wasn’t paid to the company or through bank transfer, they said it was to save on fees.
The website has only one page, but the company says it is because they only do business in person and through WhatsApp. What should I do? SP, Dubai
Answer: An offer like this just screams scam! There is no such thing as an investment that is fully capital-protected and pays the equivalent of 36 per cent each year.
Never be fooled by a smart office and always be wary of anything that looks too good to be true as it invariably is a way of conning people out of their hard-earned money.
The lack of a proper website and the pushiness have already alerted SP, but no one should give money to any company without knowing that they are genuine.
Any legitimate investment company will have a proper website and be registered with a regulatory body such as the Central Bank of the UAE, Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) or the Securities and Commodities Authority.
All payments should be to the investment company and never to an individual. Genuine investments do not promise such excessive returns, will have full paperwork with all details, and all advice should be in writing. None of this was the case and this fake company will disappear with SP’s money.
Unfortunately, there are far too many scammers preying on people in the UAE who want to make money fast. This is not realistic and most people will lose all their money. Always listen to and invest only with known and regulated companies.
Q: My son is 17 now but I am planning ahead as he turns 18 at the end of this year.
He doesn’t plan to go to university and we have agreed that he can stay with us while he figures out what to do. How can he stay legally in the UAE? What will happen to his visa as we are sponsoring him? RH, Abu Dhabi
A: It used to be the case that it was not possible to renew the residency visas of expatriates’ sons once they reached the age of 18. They could either have a student visa if studying in the UAE or a work-related one, but that situation has changed.
“A male or female resident can sponsor his/her son/s until he is 25. Sons of determination [those with special needs] can be sponsored with no restrictions with regard to his/their age/s,” according to the UAE government.
This provides more flexibility to families. Note that should RH’s son take up employment while still sponsored by a parent, the employer must still provide him with a work permit.
Q: I lived in the UAE for four years until 2021 and returned to India. I served notice to my company, so my visa was cancelled but I didn’t cancel my mobile telephone account. I used it after leaving the country, too.
I want to go back to the UAE for another job now but know there is a bill that I didn’t pay. Is there a chance that the UAE immigration authorities can detect my unpaid bill and stop me from entering the country? What can I do to return without this being a problem? SP, India
A: If someone does not pay a bill with one of the telecommunications companies and it is outstanding for some time, the company has the right to register a police case against the individual and this could lead to an immigration ban. If this is the case, SP could find that he is banned from re-entering the UAE.
As he knows that there is an outstanding bill, SP needs to contact the company to whom he owes money and arrange to settle this before attempting to return to the UAE.
He is legally obliged to pay the bill, so the most logical course of action is to repay the debt sooner rather than later.
Contact Keren Bobker at keren@holbornassets.com or at www.financialuae.com
The advice provided in our columns does not constitute legal advice and is provided for information only
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Opening Rugby Championship fixtures:Games can be watched on OSN Sports
Saturday: Australia v New Zealand, Sydney, 1pm (UAE)
Sunday: South Africa v Argentina, Port Elizabeth, 11pm (UAE)
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Key recommendations
- Fewer criminals put behind bars and more to serve sentences in the community, with short sentences scrapped and many inmates released earlier.
- Greater use of curfews and exclusion zones to deliver tougher supervision than ever on criminals.
- Explore wider powers for judges to punish offenders by blocking them from attending football matches, banning them from driving or travelling abroad through an expansion of ‘ancillary orders’.
- More Intensive Supervision Courts to tackle the root causes of crime such as alcohol and drug abuse – forcing repeat offenders to take part in tough treatment programmes or face prison.
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
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Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
The biog
From: Upper Egypt
Age: 78
Family: a daughter in Egypt; a son in Dubai and his wife, Nabila
Favourite Abu Dhabi activity: walking near to Emirates Palace
Favourite building in Abu Dhabi: Emirates Palace
This is an info box
- info goes here
- and here
- and here
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The biog
Age: 59
From: Giza Governorate, Egypt
Family: A daughter, two sons and wife
Favourite tree: Ghaf
Runner up favourite tree: Frankincense
Favourite place on Sir Bani Yas Island: “I love all of Sir Bani Yas. Every spot of Sir Bani Yas, I love it.”
Sheikh Zayed's poem
When it is unveiled at Abu Dhabi Art, the Standing Tall exhibition will appear as an interplay of poetry and art. The 100 scarves are 100 fragments surrounding five, figurative, female sculptures, and both sculptures and scarves are hand-embroidered by a group of refugee women artisans, who used the Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery art of tatreez. Fragments of Sheikh Zayed’s poem Your Love is Ruling My Heart, written in Arabic as a love poem to his nation, are embroidered onto both the sculptures and the scarves. Here is the English translation.
Your love is ruling over my heart
Your love is ruling over my heart, even a mountain can’t bear all of it
Woe for my heart of such a love, if it befell it and made it its home
You came on me like a gleaming sun, you are the cure for my soul of its sickness
Be lenient on me, oh tender one, and have mercy on who because of you is in ruins
You are like the Ajeed Al-reem [leader of the gazelle herd] for my country, the source of all of its knowledge
You waddle even when you stand still, with feet white like the blooming of the dates of the palm
Oh, who wishes to deprive me of sleep, the night has ended and I still have not seen you
You are the cure for my sickness and my support, you dried my throat up let me go and damp it
Help me, oh children of mine, for in his love my life will pass me by.
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Second ODI
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
