Former Deyaar chief arrested in Yemen

It remains unclear how he left the UAE after handing over his passport to authorities in the UAE.

DUBAI // Zack Shahin has been arrested by Yemeni security forces a month after being granted bail by the Dubai Criminal Court.

The former Deyaar chief executive was granted bail of Dh4.7 million on July 6 on condition he surrender his passport to the authorities. Prosecutors said he was released around July 12.

A well-placed source in the UAE confirmed to The National that Shahin had been arrested in Yemen, but could not say how he had managed to leave the UAE without a passport.

Shahin had been detained in Dubai since March 2008 on charges of theft and fraud involving more than Dh300 million, but was granted bail after L Victor Hurtado, chargé d'affaires at the US embassy in Abu Dhabi, called on authorities for leniency after the inmate allegedly began a hunger strike.

Shahin's wife Souha contacted a former Dubai Central Prison inmate on July 24, saying she had lost contact with her husband and had concerns for his safety.

In a text message to a former inmate, Mrs Shahin wrote "I'm very worried", saying she had not heard from her husband since the day after his release.

Speaking to The National yesterday, Mrs Shahin said: "I am hearing about his arrest in Yemen for the first time. I do not know what is going on."

She confirmed she had last spoken to her husband the day after his release.

"He was very calm and he told me he will be going to the doctor to run some tests. I have not heard anything else from him," she said from her home in Houston, Texas.

A Yemeni security source told Reuters they expected he would be deported to the UAE before the end of the week.

According to court records, Shahin will now be liable for a penalty of Dh5 million for violating his bail agreement.