ABU DHABI // Two former chairmen and three board members of an Islamic finance company were sentenced to between one and three years in jail yesterday for embezzling Dh423 million (US$120m). AHQ, a former chairman, was sentenced to three years by the Court of First Instance after he was found to have transferred money from the company's accounts to another one in which he was the majority shareholder.
The second chairman, AQ, was sentenced to two years while the three board members, AM, ES and GQ, each received a one-year sentence. The board members were found guilty of being complicit in the dealings of AQ, having knowingly given him a power of attorney that allowed him to transfer the money, according to a statement from the court.
The company, identified in court papers as either the Islamic Finance Company or the Islamic Investment Company, was registered in Abu Dhabi and recognised as a Sharia-compliant establishment. Promising a "risk free" investment, it attracted a substantial number of backers, many of whom were from Saudi Arabia. When the appeal for investors resulted in a Dh418 million surplus, AQ devised the scheme with the other defendants to transfer the surplus out of the company's accounts.
It is not known how much money the others were promised, nor whether the money has been recovered. However, the court statement said the Ministry of Economy had asked the Dubai Public Prosecution to investigate the company to which the money was transferred.
myoussef@thenational.ae
Your rights as an employee
The government has taken an increasingly tough line against companies that fail to pay employees on time. Three years ago, the Cabinet passed a decree allowing the government to halt the granting of work permits to companies with wage backlogs.
The new measures passed by the Cabinet in 2016 were an update to the Wage Protection System, which is in place to track whether a company pays its employees on time or not.
If wages are 10 days late, the new measures kick in and the company is alerted it is in breach of labour rules. If wages remain unpaid for a total of 16 days, the authorities can cancel work permits, effectively shutting off operations. Fines of up to Dh5,000 per unpaid employee follow after 60 days.
Despite those measures, late payments remain an issue, particularly in the construction sector. Smaller contractors, such as electrical, plumbing and fit-out businesses, often blame the bigger companies that hire them for wages being late.
The authorities have urged employees to report their companies at the labour ministry or Tawafuq service centres — there are 15 in Abu Dhabi.
At a glance
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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How to register as a donor
1) Organ donors can register on the Hayat app, run by the Ministry of Health and Prevention
2) There are about 11,000 patients in the country in need of organ transplants
3) People must be over 21. Emiratis and residents can register.
4) The campaign uses the hashtag #donate_hope
Off-roading in the UAE: How to checklist
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg