Following the charges issued against Damac Properties and its chairman Hussain Sajwani, the developer has issued a statement announcing the launch of an arbitration claim against Egypt, filed at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes.
Sajwani was sentenced to five years in jail and jointly fined 632.007 million Egyptian pounds with former Minister of Tourism Mohamed Zuhair Garanah. Garanah has been charged with abusing public funds worth US $51 million.
The court case followed Damac’s 2006 purchase of 30 million square meters of land along Egypt’s Red Sea coast. Damac say that because the sale was executed “under the direction” of former Minister Garranah, Sajwani and Damac were implicated by association.
The land is to be confiscated by the estate, the court said.
According to the developer, Sajwani was “implicated by association in Egypt’s on-going efforts to criminally prosecute and convict former members of Mubaraks Government,” said the statement.
According to Arabic daily Al Akhbar, Interpol issued a memorandum for Sajwani’s arrest.
Damac says the trail was “politically motivated” and in turn alleges the Arab Republic of Egypt is responsible for a series of “blatant violations of the 1997 bilateral investment treaty between the UAE and Egypt”.
The statement continues to say the trail was “the result of a political campaign of persecution against any businessman who conducted business with the former Mubarak Government“.
“DAMAC will make appropriate statements as the case develops. There has been a gross miscarriage of justice according to international principles, and DAMAC has every confidence that an ICSID Tribunal will ultimately determine that Egypt has violated the Treaty and international law with respect to its treatment of Mr. Sajwani and the investments of Damac in Egypt,” the statement concluded.