'Red-corner’ warrant for Saudi in Dubai rent scam

Interpol has issued a ‘red corner’ international arrest warrant  for real estate investor Haitham bin Mahmoud Shukri, accused of a fraud involving 78 people here in the emirate, according to Dubai Police.

The accused is a Saudi national and Lt. Colonel Mohammed Saeed Al Fashti, head of the Public Relations Section of Dubai’s CID, told this online newspaper that the total amount involved in what is believed to be a subletting scam, is Dh8 million.

Lt. Colonel Mohammed Saeed Al Fashti stated that the accused is believed to have fled to Beirut, Lebanon.

“The Dubai Police, immediately, upon receipt of a number of complaints from victims of the accused rushed to Interpol to issue a red corner notice against the Haitham bin Mahmoud Shukri,” Lt Colonel Al Fashti said.

He stressed that this arrest warrant now put the onus on all international security agencies to arrest the suspect as soon as he surfaces.

Explaining how the scam worked, Lt Colonel Al Fashti said: “He rented housing units through fake contracts for 78 tenants, claiming that he is an agent of the landlord of these properties.

“The accused, who was working as  chief executive of an entertainment company, planned the scam in a manner that made tenants not want to check back with the owners of the apartments, or the landlords.

“They were then persuaded them to pay a full year’s rent in return of getting one-month rent free.

“When the owners of these units sought to renew contracts or get tenants to leave, the scam was exposed “The tenants tried to reach the accused but were surprised to find his office closed and his phone off. By then, he had fled from the country.”

A red-corner notice is an arrest warrant circulated by Interpol on behalf of the government of a particular country. It is a request from one country to another to arrest and deport the wanted individual.

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