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AN Egyptian billionaire, accused of swindling Egyptian and Emirati nationals out of more than 100 million dollars, was arrested in the thriving emirate of Dubai, an Emirati security official said yesterday.
"Nabil Ali el-Bushi was arrested yesterday (Monday) after a group of Emirati businessmen filed reports with Dubai Police accusing him of swindling millions out of them," added Khamis al-Mazeina, Dubai Police chief.He added that according to judicial pacts signed between Egypt and the United Arab Emirates el-Bushi would be tried in Dubai first."He will not be extradited to Egypt until after his trial in the United Arab Emirates. If he had a jail term, he would be jailed here (in Dubai)," al-Mazeina said.Egypt's Prosecutor General Abdel Meguid Mahmoud, meanwhile, ordered judicial sequestra-tion on el-Bushi's family money, bank accounts, stock shares and properties."The judicial sequestration is imposed on el-Bushi, his partner Fekri Badr Eddin Hamdi, their wives and children," the official Middle East News Agency (MENA) quoted Mahmoud as say-ing. He added that a final court ruling on the seques-tration order will be on March 3. Mahmoud had forwarded an official request to authorities in the UAE asking for the handover of el-Bushi, in response to complaints by 48 Egyptians accusing him of defrauding them of more than $100 million. Complaints have been filed in Egypt and Dubai against el-Bushi, the owner of a brokerage company in Cairo, accusing him of taking the money with the alleged aim of investing them in the London and New York bourses. He then disappeared.
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Investigation Reveals Involvement of Minister in Boushi Case
By Ahmed Shalabi, Abdel Rahman Shalabi and Ayman Hamza 4/ 2/ 2009
Investigation by the Finance and Trade Prosecution found surprises in the case of Nabil Boushi, the owner of Global Optima Investment Company who is accused of defrauding by stealing millions of dollars from his Egyptian clients.
It was found that a minister in Dr. Nazif’s cabinet – whose name Al-Masry Al-Youm shall keep – owns shares in that company.
The victims’ defense requested to include the minister and the rest of the shareholders as adversaries in the case.
The victims said that senior officials in the government were also conned, but they did not report it lest they would have to answer how they could afford to deposit in the company up to LE 10 million dollars each.
The Dubai police said they have arrested Boushi after UAE nationals accused him of defrauding them and stealing from them millions of dirhams.
Major General Khamis Al-Meseina, Dubai Police Deputy Commander-in-Chief, said the defendant will not be extradited anywhere before the completion of the investigation and the implementation of his sentences, according to the legal procedures that are followed in this regard.
Samir Sabri, the lawyer of the depositors, told Al-Masry Al-Youm: “A minister being a board member in the company raises many questions. Why did he not interfere to give back the money to the victims? We will sue him in his capacity as partner and board member at the same time.”
Sabri added: “The stolen figure is nearly 250 million dollars from Egyptian businessmen and artists as well as UAE nationals on the pretext of investing them in securities in exchange for a monthly interest rate of up to 40%, but Boushi took the money and did not pay any interest. Those businessmen may not report it so as to preserve the reputation of their companies.”
He also said: “We have notified the Attorney-General to freeze all property of Boushi, his family and his second wife of Moroccan origin, Hekmat, since she owns a large part his wealth and has many bank accounts. We also requested to use the Interpol to bring Boushi back to Egypt. The Attorney-General was supportive, and we hope Bushi would be brought back soon.”
Saad el-Titi, one of the victims, said that he could get back US$ 2 million out of the US$ 3 million he gave Boushi, and that other victims, such as the owner of Al-Rashidi Al-Mizan Company, went to Dubai and Germany to look for Bushi.
An engineer among the victims - on condition of anonymity - said he found documents with the company confirming the involvement of important people in the fraud, which he will send to the Attorney-General.
Meanwhile, an official source with the Capital Market Authority said they did not receive any complaints against Optima.
Another official - speaking on condition of anonymity - said Boushi used his Optima London Company and Global Dubai Company, not his Egyptian company, pointing out that the deposit receipts were issued from those companies abroad.
He said The Non-Commercial Risks Fund of the Authority is committed to compensate the investors of Optima Egypt only.
He said Boushi gave the investors a return of up to 1150%, which means he was trading in Forex and not in the Stock Exchange, as the latter does not pay that much.
He added: “The Prosecutor-General issued an interim order to prevent Boushi and Fekry Badr el-Din Hamdi, the Chairman of the Board, their wives and their minors from the disposition of their property. He also ordered to reveal their secret accounts and notify the competent authorities and courts of these procedures.”
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