DUBAI // Police have ended burglary sprees in which two gangs stole Dh15 million worth of jewellery and other goods from 36 homes around the UAE.
Seven Colombians, a Mexican and an American were caught this month and accused of burgling houses in Jumeirah, Emirates Hills, Al Safa, Al Rashidiya and Arabian Ranches, and homes in other emirates.
“The gangs would target homes whose residents were on vacation, or that were vacant,” said Dubai Police chief Maj Gen Khamis Al Muzeina. “The first gang is accused of robbing 14 homes in Dubai and nine in other emirates. The second is accused of robbing seven in Dubai and six in other emirates.”
Gen Al Muzeina said the gangs were not directly linked but were both in contact with someone in an unidentified Asian country.
He said the first gang, of five Colombians, took jewellery, gold and 120 luxury watches.
“We learnt that two Sudanese men, one of whom was born and raised in the UAE, provided the gang with logistical support,” Gen Al Muzeina said.
The two were arrested at their home in Sharjah. Police said they contacted the gang on Facebook to tell them of homes that were empty, and rented a flat and car for them. They identified the members, who were arrested in Oman and brought back.
Officers seized goods worth more than Dh10m, some of which were hidden in toys. The five confessed, police said.
The second gang – the American, Mexican and two Colombians – were arrested on July 8 after police received a complaint about a burglary in Jumeirah.
Maj Gen Khalil Al Mansouri, deputy chief of Dubai CID, said police identified the suspects, who were staying in Al Nahda, Sharjah, within four hours of the report. They had rented two cars using fake passports.
The American and one Colombian were arrested in their flat, while the Mexican and the other Colombian were caught trying to leave the country.
All nine have been referred to prosecutors.
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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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Getting there
Etihad (Etihad.com), Emirates (emirates.com) and Air France (www.airfrance.com) fly to Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport, from Abu Dhabi and Dubai respectively. Return flights cost from around Dh3,785. It takes about 40 minutes to get from Paris to Compiègne by train, with return tickets costing €19. The Glade of the Armistice is 6.6km east of the railway station.
Staying there
On a handsome, tree-lined street near the Chateau’s park, La Parenthèse du Rond Royal (laparenthesedurondroyal.com) offers spacious b&b accommodation with thoughtful design touches. Lots of natural woods, old fashioned travelling trunks as decoration and multi-nozzle showers are part of the look, while there are free bikes for those who want to cycle to the glade. Prices start at €120 a night.
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