The Emirati Mashreqbank has been successful in its first legal round in the UK courts to recover part of its dues from Madhav Patel, the businessman who absconded United Arab Emirates (UAE) to London in 1999, leaving behind him heavy financial commitments estimated at one billion dirhams, to several local and international banks in the UAE and the region.
Mashreqbank CEO Abdul Aziz Al-Ghurair said that his bank was one of two banks that had initially filed lawsuits against Patel in the UK courts to recover their debts. These efforts have resulted in the recovery of 20 percent of the money owed to the bank.
“Although we had put in place provisions to cover all the debts owed by Patel for the fiscal year 1999, amounting to 50 million Emirati dirhams ($13.6 million) after he left the country, the bank over a two year period had pursued assets beneficially owned by him. These efforts have resulted in the recovery of Dh10 million which will be reported in the Bank’s annual report during the current year,” Ghurair noted.
Ghurair also assured that the Bank’s legal action would continue. “This action is being taken not only to safeguard the shareholders money but also to send a clear message that there will be no reprieve for any fraudulent operations conducted by anyone in the future who could think that by leaving the UAE they could escape the consequences.”
Patel had committed in a meeting held in London with the representatives of banks, from whom he borrowed money that he would return to the UAE to resolve all the issues and pay back all his dues. He also explained that the main reason for the delay had been due to liquidity problems at his end.
However, investigations conducted by the Central Bank and the Dubai Police confirmed that this was a fraudulent operation, which caused ripples in the Banking sector and pushed Mashreqbank to proceed immediately to pursue legal action against him.
Since Patel absconded from the country, leaving his two companies—Solo Industries Limited and Zeeba Metal Company LLC—bankrupt and heavily indebted to banks, there have been efforts made to bring him to book and to recover whatever dues are possible. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
