http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm/sidANA20090408T103513ZTEH45/Dubai%20Court%20Postpones%20$1.9Bn%20Case%20Against%20Sheikhs
Anyone know anything about this? </p>Thanks,</p>Dubai court postpones 1.9-bln-dlr case against sheikhs </p> DUBAI, Apr 08, 2009 (AFP) - A Dubai court postponed on Wednesday a 1.9 billion dollar lawsuit by an Iranian against members of the ruling family over an allegedly lost property investment to give the defence time to prepare.</p>Lawyer Hussein al-Jaziri asked for a "long period of time to respond to the case," but the judge set May 4 as the date for the next hearing.</p>No one represented the defence during the first hearing, on March 11.</p>Iranian Shahram Abdullah Zadeh claims he invested the 1.9 billion dollars as the sole capital of a company, Al-Fajer PropertiesAl-Fajer Properties. Under United Arab Emirates law, only UAE and Gulf citizens may register property firms, and ruling family member Sheikh Hasher Maktoum bin Jumaa al-Maktoum is listed as the owner.</p>"I was the sole investor. Al-Fajer PropertiesAl-Fajer Properties is my company. Sheikh Hasher's only contribution has been the real estate licence as a sponsor," he said in March.</p>Zadeh, who was sacked as company president last year, is demanding the "recovery of all material assets of Al-Fajer PropertiesAl-Fajer Properties," according to legal documents obtained by AFP.</p>These include liquid assets and property, which are estimated at seven billion dirhams (1.9 billion dollars), and nine percent interest since the suit was filed.</p>"We have enough documents to prove he was the sole investor," Zadeh's lawyer Salem al-Shaali told AFP after the first hearing.</p>Sheikh Hasher is a brother-in-law of Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum. Also named in the suit are his daughter, Sheikha Maryam, a partner in the company, and son Sheikh Maktoum, who was made president of Al-Fajer after Zadeh was sacked.</p>Their names were only made public on Wednesday.</p>Zadeh said he was detained by Dubai police at the time he was dismissed last year and held without charge for 60 days, and that his passport was confiscated and is still being held without explanation.</p>The case comes as several executives from high-profile Dubai firms are held on suspicion of embezzlement and as the once-booming regional business and tourism hub struggles to stave off the impact of the global economic slowdown.</p>ak/al</p>© Copyright AFP 2009.