DUBAI // Hundreds of tenants face losing their homes after falling for a con in which they inadvertently paid rent totalling as much as Dh1 million to a bogus property agent.
They claim the man, identified as a 34-year-old Saudi national in a passport copy he supplied his tenants, illegally amassed a fortune in a bogus subletting scheme that left both tenants and landlords stunned.
Last night a group of tenants met in The Greens to plan a course of action in an attempt to claw back their money, pay the landlords and stay in their homes.
The con began when the man, identified in papers as Haitham Mahmoud Al Kouatly, allegedly told real estate agents he was the chief executive of an events company, Shamyana Entertainment, and he needed to rent apartments across the emirate for 500 employees.
It appears he then illegally sublet the homes he had rented in The Greens, Views, Burj Downtown and other areas, telling prospective tenants he was the owner.
When the subletting began in 2011, he told tenants he would pay their utility bills as part of the rental agreement, and registered all of the homes with Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) in his company's name. That year the landlords received their money.
However, this year, when contracts came up for renewal, he said they would be paying their own Dewa bills, but offered them a month's free rent if they paid a year's rent in advance. Faced with substantial savings, tenants paid a year in advance. It is now believed Mr Al Kouatly cashed those cheques immediately and left the country.
One tenant, Lyn, who asked to be identified by only her first name, said: "My lease was up for renewal in December, but since he offered me 13 months at a price of a 12-month lease, I agreed to one cheque. The cheque was cashed the next day. I found that surprising but didn't think too much of it because mutual friends had rented from him, plus I had lived in the apartment for a year."
Mr Al Kouatly, who told some tenants to call him "Sam" and claimed he was the grandson of a Syrian president, has not been heard from since last week.
"When I heard Sam had left the country from friends, I desperately tried all the numbers I had, but they said they didn't work for him anymore," she said.
"Then I got a note under my door from the real landlords saying there was a problem with the apartment and I needed to contact them. Nobody knows what to do."
Dubai Police confirmed the incident but said that only one case had been registered with them so far. They refused to comment further on the case.
Last night's meeting of jilted tenants from The Greens took place in the Al Tayyal building lobby and marked the third time they had met in the past week.
Those who gathered said they paid rents from Dh50,000 to Dh115,000 for studios, one-bed and two-bedroom flats in the Emaar development.
They said they had already approached various Dubai authorities, including police, Rera and Dubai Municipality's Land Department.
"Many of my neighbours have the same problem," said Mounir, who paid Dh55,000 in a single cheque. "We went to Rera and they told us there are more than 400 families with the same issue."
Rera said it had reviewed the 15 complaints received so far.
“We found the company has no right to deal in real estate activity and the complainants have been advised to take legal action to protect their rights,” said a Rera spokesman. “Some landlords told us they knew that the company was not a real estate company but the rent amounts was big and so they accepted his offer.”
Mohammed Al Sheikh, secretary general of Dubai Municipality rental committee, said they knew of the scam, but added that no official complaints had yet been forwarded to them.
An official at the Land Department said the issue would not be dealt by them as it was a criminal case, which should be handled by Dubai Police.
By the end of the hour-long meeting in The Greens, the group decided to consult lawyers and visit the Dewa office as soon as possible.
"Everyone has decided to first get Dewa sorted," said a tenant, who asked not to be named. "And do whatever they can to ensure they don't cut off. Our aim is stay here."
They also agreed they would invite the real landlords to meet the tenants either individually or as a group to discuss the situation and perhaps reach a compromise.
None of the tenants who gathered in The Greens had registered their leases with Ejari, the Real Estate Regulatory Agency's rental watchdog.
Alexis Waller, a partner at the law firm Clyde & Co, said the scam may have been detected earlier if tenants and landlords had registered their contracts under the Ejari scheme due to the ownership paperwork required.
"I believe it is likely to have been picked up," said Ms Waller. "The registration would not have gone through if ownership evidence was not presented or the agent was not properly authorised to register. Any subleasing taking place would also have become apparent."
pkannan@thenational.ae
rtalwar@thenational.ae
- With reporting by Wafa Issa
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
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How it works
Each player begins with one of the great empires of history, from Julius Caesar's Rome to Ramses of Egypt, spread over Europe and the Middle East.
Round by round, the player expands their empire. The more land they have, the more money they can take from their coffers for each go.
As unruled land and soldiers are acquired, players must feed them. When a player comes up against land held by another army, they can choose to battle for supremacy.
A dice-based battle system is used and players can get the edge on their enemy with by deploying a renowned hero on the battlefield.
Players that lose battles and land will find their coffers dwindle and troops go hungry. The end goal? Global domination of course.
MATCH INFO
Day 2 at the Gabba
Australia 312-1
Warner 151 not out, Burns 97, Labuschagne 55 not out
Pakistan 240
Shafiq 76, Starc 4-52
India squad
Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, K.L. Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant, Shivam Dube, Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Deepak Chahar, Mohammed Shami, Shardul Thakur.
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Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
Playing records of the top 10 in 2017
How many games the top 10 have undertaken in the 2017 ATP season
1. Rafael Nadal 58 (49-9)
2. Andy Murray 35 (25-10)
3. Roger Federer 38 (35-3)
4. Stan Wawrinka 37 (26-11)
5. Novak Djokovic 40 (32-8)
6. Alexander Zverev 60 (46-14)
7. Marin Cilic 43 (29-14)
8. Dominic Thiem 60 (41-19)
9. Grigor Dimitrov 48 (34-14)
10. Kei Nishikori 43 (30-13)
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
The Way It Was: My Life with Frank Sinatra by Eliot Weisman and Jennifer Valoppi
Hachette Books
Company profile
Date started: January, 2014
Founders: Mike Dawson, Varuna Singh, and Benita Rowe
Based: Dubai
Sector: Education technology
Size: Five employees
Investment: $100,000 from the ExpoLive Innovation Grant programme in 2018 and an initial $30,000 pre-seed investment from the Turn8 Accelerator in 2014. Most of the projects are government funded.
Partners/incubators: Turn8 Accelerator; In5 Innovation Centre; Expo Live Innovation Impact Grant Programme; Dubai Future Accelerators; FHI 360; VSO and Consult and Coach for a Cause (C3)
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The specs
Engine: 4 liquid-cooled permanent magnet synchronous electric motors placed at each wheel
Battery: Rimac 120kWh Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide (LiNiMnCoO2) chemistry
Power: 1877bhp
Torque: 2300Nm
Price: Dh7,500,00
On sale: Now
Company%20profile
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Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
PRESIDENTS CUP
Draw for Presidents Cup fourball matches on Thursday (Internationals first mention). All times UAE:
02.32am (Thursday): Marc Leishman/Joaquin Niemann v Tiger Woods/Justin Thomas
02.47am (Thursday): Adam Hadwin/Im Sung-jae v Xander Schauffele/Patrick Cantlay
03.02am (Thursday): Adam Scott/An Byeong-hun v Bryson DeChambeau/Tony Finau
03.17am (Thursday): Hideki Matsuyama/CT Pan v Webb Simpson/Patrick Reed
03.32am (Thursday): Abraham Ancer/Louis Oosthuizen v Dustin Johnson/Gary Woodland
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
The Transfiguration
Director: Michael O’Shea
Starring: Eric Ruffin, Chloe Levine
Three stars
The specs
Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
On sale: Now
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MATCH INFO
Inter Milan 1 (Martinez 18' pen)
Juventus 2 (Dybala 4', Higuain 80')
MATCH INFO
What: 2006 World Cup quarter-final
When: July 1
Where: Gelsenkirchen Stadium, Gelsenkirchen, Germany
Result:
England 0 Portugal 0
(Portugal win 3-1 on penalties)
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NBA Finals results
Game 1: Warriors 124, Cavaliers 114
Game 2: Warriors 122, Cavaliers 103
Game 3: Cavaliers 102, Warriors 110
Game 4: In Cleveland, Sunday (Monday morning UAE)
