Bankrupt Banker: Dubai

Khalifa Bkhit al-Falasi who is free on bail, was dismissed in July from the cabinet without an official explanation.

"There is no case in the first place. It is a contrived and unjustified case," former state minister Khalifa Bkhit al-Falasi told AFP before appearing in a Dubai courtroom along with three alleged associates.Judge Hamad Abdullatif Abdulgawad read out the charges of "breach of trust and fraud" against the ex-official and the three others -- Falasi's son, a US citizen of Arab descent and an Indian national -- in seizing a software company.All denied the charges, which relate to a business association preceding Falasi's appointment as state minister in February. The case was brought by a Lebanese businesswoman who accused Falasi of "breaching the trust of her family's business" following the death of her brother, who was his partner."This is an issue that was settled in 2005 when the partners ended the partnership and signed agreements," defence lawyer Hussein al-Jaziri told reporters. "Even assuming there is a dispute, it is a civil, not criminal, issue," he said.Falasi, who is free on bail, was dismissed in July from the cabinet without an official explanation, shortly after the public prosecution pressed charges against him.His trial, which was adjourned to October 20, comes amid a crackdown on corruption by the government of Dubai, a Gulf business hub aiming to rival global financial centres like London and New York.Several executives are being detained or questioned over alleged fraud in a number of high-profile companies. But Jaziri said Falasi's case was a private matter which had nothing to do with ongoing corruption probes.None of the executives currently being questioned for purported fraud or bribery, including both Emiratis and foreigners, have yet gone on trial.

Khalifa Bkhit al-Falasi who is free on bail, was dismissed in July from the cabinet without an official explanation.

"There is no case in the first place. It is a contrived and unjustified case," former state minister Khalifa Bkhit al-Falasi told ...

UAE banks have been hit by a wave of ATM card fraud

HSBC warned customers to be wary when using ATM machines as criminal gangs can place a false card reader on the entry slot of an ATM and a micro-camera above the ATM to read the PIN as it is inputUAE banks have been hit by a wave of ATM card fraud, with criminal gangs using counterfeit cards to access local accounts from abroad, HSBC said on Tuesday. The lender said it has refunded the "small number" of its customers have been affected and warned others to change their PIN numbers as a precaution, without giving further details about the fraud."Together with other UAE-based banks, we have been experiencing an attack on our local accounts from counterfeit ATM card usage abroad," Jonathan Campbell-James, regional head of security and fraud risk at HSBC Middle East, said in a statement. "We have been pro-actively communicating to our customers via SMS to change their PIN numbers at any HSBC ATM as a precaution, and have implemented various containment strategies to minimize the threat posed."The information can then be used to manufacture counterfeit cards, known as card skimming. Card fraud is becoming a growing problem in the UAE, with several high-profile cases coming to light this year.A six-man gang was jailed in March for forging dozens of credit cards and stealing more than $250,000.The same month the UAE central bank announced that the card details of potentially thousands of residents were stolen by a gang of fraudsters who hacked into a bank's ATM machine.

UAE banks have been hit by a wave of ATM card fraud

HSBC warned customers to be wary when using ATM machines as criminal gangs can place a false card reader on the entry slot of an ATM and a m...

Dubai property crash

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTFqkNALXNktTvhiVmddyL81IpNYADnY7EeT8ix5Kv0_kXMmd8NsohpqG0zpEhfKT4HJsv43v-P9ZM_I_ACOTblFYmZFTFKr5Kquh-ZtIY3-en4WlDrOEuDaq7Anr4R28b5puKU4jTmgI/s1600-h/dub.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5239472663038388258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTFqkNALXNktTvhiVmddyL81IpNYADnY7EeT8ix5Kv0_kXMmd8NsohpqG0zpEhfKT4HJsv43v-P9ZM_I_ACOTblFYmZFTFKr5Kquh-ZtIY3-en4WlDrOEuDaq7Anr4R28b5puKU4jTmgI/s400/dub.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" /></a> Soaring housing prices in Dubai are likely to peak in 2009 before falling at least 15 percent as the Gulf emirate takes measures to weed out short-term speculators, a Reuters poll showed on Tuesday.Residential property prices in the desert city, home to palm tree-shaped islands and an indoor ski slope, are likely to jump 35 percent this year, according to the median of forecasts from 10 analysts at banks, investment firms and research institutions.Price growth will probably slow to 8.5 percent next year, when five of nine analysts expect prices to hit a peak after double-digit increases in each year since Dubai opened its property market to foreign investment in 2002.

Dubai property crash

Soaring housing prices in Dubai are likely to peak in 2009 before falling at least 15 percent as the Gulf emirate takes measures to weed out...