DUBAI // Two men working for the Dubai Municipality denied seeking Dh350,000 in bribes for reconnecting electricity to 16 villas, a court heard this morning.
The two suspects, AF, a 37-year-old building inspector from Egypt, and his section head, WA, 27, told the Criminal Court of First instance that the incident did not happen.
Court records said the villa owner, identified as HD, owed Dh350,000 in fines and lost power for having more than one family living in each home. AF and WA told him that they could reconnect the electricity, wipe his slate clean and make sure he was not cited for any more violations for one year if they paid the fines directly to them, prosecutors say.
Court records said the suspects were recorded having a telephone conversation with HD in which he complained that the power had been disconnected and said he only had Dh150,000, promising to pay the remainder during the next few months.
Records show AF inspected the villas on different dates in July 2010 and fined 16 of them after he found that more than one family in each villa. HD said that when residents called him complaining about the power loss, he met with AF. He told prosecutors that AF instructed him to visit the his section head to discuss the issue.
WA, according to prosecutors, failed to answer HD's phone calls and sent him a man who worked for him, who confirmed that HD owed Dh350,000 in fines.
He told prosecutors that he was suspicious about being asked to pay the inspector directly, and eventually went to the police. Officers told him to pretend to suspects that he wanted to pay, records show.
AF is accused of asking him to pay Dh150,000 and give him a rent-free villa for one year, or pay the full Dh350,000 in cash. HD said the suspects told him the offer was valid for one year, during which he would not receive any other warnings or fines, according to records.
AF was arrested with the money in his possession after HD informed police about when he would meet to hand over the cash.
The next hearing was scheduled for February 28 for witness testimony.
salamir@thenational.ae
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Series info
Test series schedule 1st Test, Abu Dhabi: Sri Lanka won by 21 runs; 2nd Test, Dubai: Play starts at 2pm, Friday-Tuesday
ODI series schedule 1st ODI, Dubai: October 13; 2nd ODI, Abu Dhabi: October 16; 3rd ODI, Abu Dhabi: October 18; 4th ODI, Sharjah: October 20; 5th ODI, Sharjah: October 23
T20 series schedule 1st T20, Abu Dhabi: October 26; 2nd T20, Abu Dhabi: October 27; 3rd T20, Lahore: October 29
Tickets Available at www.q-tickets.com
Stat Fourteen Fourteen of the past 15 Test matches in the UAE have been decided on the final day. Both of the previous two Tests at Dubai International Stadium have been settled in the last session. Pakistan won with less than an hour to go against West Indies last year. Against England in 2015, there were just three balls left.
Key battle - Azhar Ali v Rangana Herath Herath may not quite be as flash as Muttiah Muralitharan, his former spin-twin who ended his career by taking his 800th wicket with his final delivery in Tests. He still has a decent sense of an ending, though. He won the Abu Dhabi match for his side with 11 wickets, the last of which was his 400th in Tests. It was not the first time he has owned Pakistan, either. A quarter of all his Test victims have been Pakistani. If Pakistan are going to avoid a first ever series defeat in the UAE, Azhar, their senior batsman, needs to stand up and show the way to blunt Herath.
COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
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Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.
As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.
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THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick
Hometown: Cologne, Germany
Family: Wife Hanan Ahmed and their three children, Marrah (23), Tibijan (19), Amon (13)
Favourite dessert: Umm Ali with dark camel milk chocolate flakes
Favourite hobby: Football
Breakfast routine: a tall glass of camel milk
