Policeman accused of robbery was 'busy extorting', says lawyer

ABU DHABI // A policeman accused of robbery in Musaffah could not be guilty, said his lawyer, because he was busy at the time extorting money from shops in Shahama.

The officer, SN, who works for the ambulance department in Al Rahba, appeared in the Criminal Court of First Instance yesterday charged with robbery and impersonating a CID officer.

SN had previously been convicted of threatening shops in Shahama with Dh10,000 fines for breaking hygiene laws if they did not pay him Dh1,000.

His latest alleged victim claimed SN had kidnapped him in Musaffah before taking him to a shop in Shahama where he stole Dh14,000 and 32 du phonecards worth Dh50 each. SN's lawyer claimed the victim's testimony contradicted itself.

"When the victim was asked about the timing of the incident, he said in the police report it occurred at 3.30 in the afternoon, then during investigations he said it occurred at six in the evening. Then when the prosecutor asked him he said it occurred between two and 2.30," the lawyer said.

"At first, the victim said that the defendant took out the Dh14,000 from his wallet, then, during investigations he said he took out the Dh14,000 from a plastic bag from his pocket," he continued.

The victim also gave contradicting details of the kidnapping, the lawyer said. At first, he testified that SN had handcuffed him and covered his head with a bag while they travelled in a car. But he later said he had seen traffic signs indicating they were driving towards Dubai.

"How can he see the signs if his head was covered with a bag?" the lawyer asked. His final argument, which he said was key to proving his client's innocence, was that in a previous case in which SN was convicted, he had been shown to be in Shahama at 2.30pm on the same day as the latest alleged incident - which took place in Musaffah.

"How can he be in Musaffah and in Shahama at the same time?" the lawyer asked.

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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