Claims of biz swindle in Dubai's ruling fam
That shiny veneer of Dubai's is getting kind of tarnished and dull....
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – In this Gulf city-state, two things have long been untouchable: business interests and the ruling family. However, an attempt to sue a member of the family over an alleged financial swindle is a sign of how much the economic crisis has rattled business as usual here.
Shahram Abdullah Zadeh accuses the brother-in-law of Dubai's emir illegally of taking over his real-estate firm and having him detained by police to help the swindle.
Zadeh, a 37-year-old Iranian national who has lived in Dubai all his life, brought a civil case against the brother-in-law to get his firm back, a rare move. Even more surprising, Zadeh tried to raise criminal charges, but that step went nowhere because prosecutors rejected it.
The case has raised questions about whether Dubai really is what it claims to be: A boomtown where international businessmen can safely invest and turn a profit; or rather, a nest of cronyism and connections where royal blood can still trump entrepreneurial effort.
Such questions were largely ignored by everyone — businessmen and politicians alike — as long as the cash was rolling in during Dubai's stunning expansion over the past decade. But now the emirate has hit the skids in the world financial crisis.
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090416/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_dubai_suing_the_fa...
