Court to hear Dh400m fraud case

ABU DHABI // A Q Qublan, the chief defendant in the 'case of the non-existent wallet' will appear in the Abu Dhabi Court of First Instance tomorrow to face charges of fraud and forgery. To date, an investigation committee comprised of the Central Bank, the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department and the Abu Dhabi Police have managed to recover Dh260 million of the money taken under fraudulent terms from 8,000 investors. Ninety-one other defendants have been charged in the case. The investigating committee has seized all assets of Mr Qublan and three other main defendants, including 33 cars which will be auctioned off in a matter of days. Three of the cars are said to be worth at least Dh1 million. The police are asking anyone else who may have a claim against Mr Qublan to register their claim by Sept 11 at the latest. After that, no other claims will be accepted to enable the case to move forward. Mr Qublan is alleged to have defrauded thousands of residents and nationals in the UAE of an amount reported to be Dh400 million promising them returns of 30 to 40 per cent of their initial investment on a monthly basis. He is alleged to have written more than 5,000 fraudulent cheques to investors as a financial guarantee that their investment was secure. @email:ealghalib@thenational.ae