Witness absent in Nakheel case

The court hearing the new Nakheel corruption case yesterday adjourned the matter because witness Hamza Abdullatif, Manager of The World, failed to attend proceedings for the second time. Six defendants are charged in the case, of whom, four are at large.

The court earlier heard the testimony of Mohammed Mustafa Hussein, expert at the Financial Audit Department of the Dubai Ruler's office. Hussein spoke of violations by the first defendant, SR, a sales consultant, who obtained Dh21.9 million from customers who transferred the amount to his and his father's accounts in Emirates Bank.

SR, 31, sold some islands but failed to mention buyers' names or sign contracts, which allowed them to resell the properties at higher prices, thus violating the project management's policy disallowing resale. The other five defendants are LS, 59, Canadian; BS, British, AS, Bangladeshi, SM, Russian and RS, SR's father.