Millions lost at Union in Dubai

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DUBAI, March 28, (AP): A troubled Dubai real estate developer said Monday it suspected that $42 million had been “misappropriated” by the company’s former officials while saying it massively overvalued its holdings, declaring nearly $800 million in accumulated losses in recent years. The announcement by Union Properties comes as Emirati prosecutors announced in October they were investigating the firm.

Already, the firm’s board of directors has seen its chairmen and other officials dismissed amid the probe. Union Properties, known for building Dubai Motor City, had been trying to turn around its fortunes in recent years. But the announcement and filings on the Dubai Financial Market stock exchange show the firm had evenmore serious problems than initially realized.

Last year “has been a difficult year for Union Properties as we uncovered widespread fraud and misconduct by the company’s former management involving forgery, misappropriation of funds and various other financial violations which has negatively impact the company’s financial health and been a severe breach of shareholder confidence,” managing director Amer Khansaheb said in a statement.

The losses represent nearly 70% of the company’s capital, the firm said in a filing. It attributed $565 million in value losses in 2017, with another over $300 million in 2021. The company said it planned to “recover the misappropriated fund through legal procedures” and restructure its debt. Union Properties, like other firms, has struggled to come out of the shadow of Dubai’s 2009 financial crisis, when its property market collapsed.

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