A personal finance consultant has been convicted of running his business without a licence, amid claims that he invested his clients' money in high-risk start up companies without their knowledge.
Neil Grant was convicted by Dubai Criminal Court of operating his company without being registered with the authorities.
Clients raised the case with Dubai Public Prosecution, and the Department of Economic Development supported claims he had operated without a licence.
A number of his clients have alleged that the Scotsman pumped money that they invested with him into waste removal firms and student accommodation in the UK, losing their investments in the process.
Clients that spoke to The National said they lost tens or hundreds of thousands of dirhams.
Grant, who ran Prosperity Offshore Investment Consultants, did not attend an appeal hearing in November and left Dubai. He was fined Dh2,000.
A civil case has been opened by his victims to try to recover their investments. They claim total losses run into the millions.
Grant did not respond to repeated attempts to contact him in recent months, and his lawyer decline to comment when approached during his court case.
One of his clients, Amber Waheed, was working in construction when she began looking for financial advice, and was recommended to Grant by a circle of friends.
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"He was also an expat and understood the financial rigours of investing here, so he came across as trustworthy - especially as he had been recommended by friends," she told The National.
“Other high level people with money had invested with him, so I thought - why not?"
“I gave him a substantial sum, and others gave him millions of dirhams and have lost their life savings. The average amount lost is about 100,000 pounds."
“He had about 400 clients, and was taking a percentage from setting up funds, commissions and fees for moving investments to other funds.”
Alarm bells sounded when investors were told the value of their investments were wildly fluctuating in price. Many were surprised as they had plumped for more stable, long term investments.
Further investigation by investors uncovered details of the funds they had been invested into, which turned out to be high risk but offered huge commissions for Grant.
Most were described as short term, high risk, unregulated, illiquid funds.
Ms Waheed questioned Grant about his trade licence, and was eventually told he was working for Prosperity Management Consultancy, with a registered office at a top hotel in Dubai.
This was different to the previous name she had been given by him, of Prosperity Offshore Investment Consultants.
A further check on the Department of Economic Development revealed Grant was not licensed to offer financial advice.
When quizzed further, he told investors he had been trading under another name, and the licence of another brokerage in Dubai.
Another to take financial advice from Grant was David, a Briton who moved to Dubai in 2003, who took out four investment plans worth about $400,000.
Three were supposed to be long term plans, and one was a shorter, higher risk investment.
“I was naive and believed what I was told,” he said.
“Now I realise they were high risk, equity funds which are pretty unregulated. It is not something I would want to put my life savings into."
“He was recommended to me, and I then recommended him to others - which I now feel bad about."
“Looking back, it was a hard sell from him. Neil was a very personable chap, and I would be in his office for hours discussing things with him."
“His sales technique was to get to know me and my family, to win our trust and come across as a friend. He was very persuasive, and I ended up with two plans from the same provider that were virtually identical.”
David has lost in the region of Dh550,000, a large chunk of his life savings.
Fund managers were paying Grant about Dh18,000 for every investment fund he opened with them, so it is thought he made hundreds of thousands of dirhams in fees.
The commission on low risk investments is much smaller.
“I know we should have checked out his background more rather than rely on referrals,” Ms Waheed added. “It is an expensive lesson for all of us.”
She also faced difficulty bringing her case to court, with criminal lawyers quoting up to Dh100,000 to fight her corner.
The prosecutor initially said there were no charges, but an extension was granted and the case was eventually brought to criminal court.
Ms Waheed was told she had a legal case when she went to the insurance authority to complain, as Grant had claimed to be licensed by them, but was not allowed to act as a financial advisor. He claimed he was acting as a consultant.
When Grant failed to acknowledge her emails or calls, she contacted police in June 2016 and his passport was blocked and the case was transferred to prosecutors.
“The evidence against Neil Grant was complicated and I was very lucky to receive a verdict as Neil operated cleverly,” Ms Waheed said.
"I’ve been told by lawyers that this is a landmark case in that it's the first time a financial advisory has been taken to criminal court and judgment has been ruled in the victim's favour".
The%20Killer
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Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital
SPECS
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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
Moving%20Out%202
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The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Director: Shady Ali
Cast: Boumi Fouad , Mohamed Tharout and Hisham Ismael
Rating: 3/5
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Ticket prices
- Golden circle - Dh995
- Floor Standing - Dh495
- Lower Bowl Platinum - Dh95
- Lower Bowl premium - Dh795
- Lower Bowl Plus - Dh695
- Lower Bowl Standard- Dh595
- Upper Bowl Premium - Dh395
- Upper Bowl standard - Dh295
RACE CARD
6.30pm: Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Dirt) 1,200m
7.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (D) 1,900m
7.40pm: Handicap (TB) Dh102,500 (D) 2,000m
8.15pm: Conditions (TB) Dh120,000 (D) 1,600m
8.50pm: Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (D) 1,600m
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,400m
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
The biog
Born: near Sialkot, Pakistan, 1981
Profession: Driver
Family: wife, son (11), daughter (8)
Favourite drink: chai karak
Favourite place in Dubai: The neighbourhood of Khawaneej. “When I see the old houses over there, near the date palms, I can be reminded of my old times. If I don’t go down I cannot recall my old times.”
Secret Nation: The Hidden Armenians of Turkey
Avedis Hadjian, (IB Tauris)
Hurricanes 31-31 Lions
Wellington Hurricanes:
Tries: Gibbins, Laumape, Goosen, Fifita tries, Barrett
Conversions: Barrett (4)
Penalties: Barrett
British & Irish Lions:
Tries: Seymour (2), North
Conversions: Biggar (2)
Penalties: Biggar (4)
Manchester United's summer dealings
In
Victor Lindelof (Benfica) £30.7 million
Romelu Lukaku (Everton) £75 million
Nemanja Matic (Chelsea) £40 million
Out
Zlatan Ibrahimovic Released
Wayne Rooney (Everton) Free transfer
Adnan Januzaj (Real Sociedad) £9.8 million
Crime%20Wave
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
TUESDAY'S ORDER OF PLAY
Centre Court
Starting at 2pm:
Elina Svitolina (UKR) [3] v Jennifer Brady (USA)
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) v Belinda Bencic (SUI [4]
Not before 7pm:
Sofia Kenin (USA) [5] v Elena Rybakina (KAZ)
Maria Sakkari (GRE) v Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) [7]
Court One
Starting at midday:
Karolina Muchova (CZE) v Katerina Siniakova (CZE)
Kristina Mladenovic (FRA) v Aliaksandra Sasnovich (BLR)
Veronika Kudermetova (RUS) v Dayana Yastermska (UKR)
Petra Martic (CRO) [8] v Su-Wei Hsieh (TPE)
Sorana Cirstea (ROU) v Anett Kontaveit (EST)
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
