The manager of a cleaning services company has been accused of stealing more than Dh700,000 ($190,579) from his employers, Dubai Criminal Court heard.
Judges were told the incident was discovered after a Chinese businesswoman became a partner in the Dubai-based company in November 2019.
She met the 31-year old defendant, from Eritrea, at the company’s offices in Al Rashidiya, but he refused to work with her.
“He wouldn’t deal with me, claiming he had never met me and didn’t know who I was," the woman told the court.
"Then he tried to take the passports of all employees but I stopped him."
During a meeting with her 36 staff members, the woman discovered they were paid salaries different to those stated in their contracts.
After raising the issue with the employees, they said they had not seen or signed the contracts, the court heard.
It was also discovered that in 2018 the defendant opened a cleaning services company of his own.
“I started revising the company’s documents and records and discovered that the company income was not being deposited in its account,” the businesswoman said.
“He was sending employees from our company to do work for his company without their knowledge."
An internal investigation revealed the defendant’s contract was forged to make his salary Dh20,000 instead of an agreed amount of Dh1,500.
The woman's Saudi partner flew to the UAE when he learned about the incident and discovered several fines against the business because of the defendant's violations.
“I bought the company in 2016 and promoted the defendant from a cleaner to a manager,” he said.
“I handed him the electronic signature of the facility and a power of attorney in order to run it in my absence.”
Investigations also revealed that an Emirati employee at a typing centre, 41, helped the defendant forge his work contract and the contracts of 17 company employees, the court heard.
Another man, also from Eritrea – who remains at large – worked with the defendant at the company and helped with the scam, it is claimed.
In court, all three were charged with forgery. The two who were present denied the charges against them.
The manager was additionally charged with illegally obtaining money and electronics, including an iPad, iPhone, and Samsung mobile phones, worth Dh764,523.
The next hearing is scheduled on February 11.
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Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
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Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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The UN-brokered ceasefire deal for Hodeidah will be implemented in two stages, with the first to be completed before the New Year begins, according to the Arab Coalition supporting the Yemeni government.
By midnight on December 31, the Houthi rebels will have to withdraw from the ports of Hodeidah, Ras Issa and Al Saqef, coalition officials told The National.
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Sector: Water technology
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Investment raised: $4 million
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