#ONHOLD: Umm Al Quwain: WHITE BAY

[izziere]

Originally Posted by AjmanOwner

What these MONKEYS who rule the Northern Emirates need to wake-up to , is that there are GOOD and BAD investors . The BAD will simple take a small financial hit, pick themselves up and move on to another "investment". The GOOD will suffer for a long time , loose hard earned cash, and not trust investing there money in "risky" places again.

Not sure I follow your logic. Why would this make the appropriate people change their behaviour? Realistically this has been on the cards for a long time.

I am sorry for all those who have suffered as a result of this. Good luck.

[fazpash]

New to this site... wish we'd found it 2 years ago before we bought 2 apartments!! Spoke to a Mr Suhaib Shaikh at the liquidation office today. Apparently they will have a 'plan' within 3 weeks. Maybe that means 3 years if our luck with the project continues!!

Based in the UK, so would be keen to link with other investors to push for a speedy resolution.

[JOENEM]

Hi fazpash!

We bought 2 apartments as well.
Based in Austria, anyway i will stay in Dubai from 27.11. till 1.12.
I will try to catch up somebody from the liquidation office.
Do you have a phone number of Mr. Suhaib Shaikh?
We should try to find a way to link investors outside a public forum.

Kind regards and good luck

[fazpash]

Hi Joenem,

I called the liquidation office. He called me back within 24 hours which was very fast given the time frames I am used to working within.

I asked about going over, and he suggested we wait until they have the 'plan' formalised. It will be necessary for either the owners or an authorised signatory to be present at some point to complete the process. He also told me he was confident things would move quite quickly once the plan was set up.

If you are going it would be beneficial to look into the escrow account status.. or anyone who is in Dubai and would like to pop in and ask.

I checked back, the escrow account is held at the National Bank of Umm AL Qaiwain, project number is 2578. I've been trying to contact them unsuccessfully at this point, although not sure what if any info they could give me anyway.
I'd just like to know it still exists and will fufill it's protective function!
Does anyone have any further info??

[belal100]

i am heading out to dubai on the 14th dec. I am based in england.

I will bring updates once I'm out there. No way are they getting away with my money.

Any1 wants to get in touch, plz email me belal.t@hotmail.co.uk

[JOENEM]

I will try to get some updates during the next days.

I will keep you informed if i can catch some news.

My email for you in this case: uaq@nemetz.co.at

[Mensah]

I looked on the White Bay website; why do they need a mega media group like sahara, is that not spending more money that should be refunded to investors. Why does a liquidator need a media company anyway?

[laidback74]

Dear All,

lets please share email addresses and organize a group. This will be useful in sharing the latest information, getting joint representation, consolidating our voting rights, etc.

My email address is rehanzubair@hotmail.com

[Parisian Girl]

Kevin Brass | Last Updated: Jan 4, 2011

Investors in the failed White Bay resort in Umm al Qaiwain are facing a Friday deadline for filing claims in the first bankruptcy case involving a UAE developer.

The legal and development communities are following the case, which could set guidelines for future developer bankruptcies.

http://www.thenational.ae/business/p...-face-deadline

[laidback74]

Dear All,

As per the latest information I've received, they seem to be veering towards compensation by giving us a combination of cash and plots. Naturally, they don't specify what percentage is cash, but i figure the package is heavily weighted towards plots.

These plots will have been valued by a third party agency and as such, considered 'fairly valued'. However, I don't believe they actually have any re-sale value in the market at all. If you look at the number of transactions that occur for land in umm al quwain, it's an incredibly low percentage.

Has anyone else been given similar information? Do you have anything to add?

[MATEMAN]

It is my understanding that the stage payments were paid into an escrow account, therefore, this money should be safe. If you have purchased an apartment how can you be offered a plot of land ?

[unknownpleasures]

UAE developer files for bankruptcy

* United Arab Emirates: Thursday, November 25 - 2010 at 10:41

Al-Murjan Real Estate, the developer of the $3bn residential community White Bay in the in the emirate of Umm Al-Quwain has filed for bankruptcy in a federal court, Bloomberg has reported. The developer, equally owned by Umm Al-Quwain's deputy ruler, Sheikh Abdullah bin Rashid Al Mualla, and Al Khalijia Investments, cited failure to get government approval for the project and defaults by "nearly 50% of the buyers".


http://www.ameinfo.com/249788.html

[Analyzer]

Hello, does anyone know how many buyers are there in this project?, because i read the national's article, also gulf news, and it says 8000, that number is too large, so anyone has an idea?

[Analyzer]

I’m one of the investors in white bay, and I was searching for any additional news about the progress of liquidation. Can anyone tell me what to do or who to call? Is Mr. Suhaib Shaikh, mentioned above, helpful? Does anyone have his number?

May be if I explain my situation to him, he can find a way to submit my claim after the deadline. The reason of my delay is a lawyer who wasted my time and money, and told me to wait.

[MATEMAN]

Has anybody heard anything ? I was under the impression that we would be made an offer after the 7th January.

[andrewflasmann]

7 january was the deadline , it will take them some time to process and verify all the claims, however I was assured that they would come up with a proposal some time this month.

[laidback74]

Hi guys,

Has anyone received a settlement offer yet from the Al Murjan liquidation team? I'll be inquiring about mine next week and will keep everyone posted of they confirm anything.

[unknownpleasures]

Dubai 'German sports star towers’ backer in bankruptcy

Bradley Hope

Last Updated: Jan 16, 2011

Financial backers of a Dubai developer that aimed to build towers named after German sports stars including the Formula One driver Michael Schumacher and the tennis champion Boris Becker have declared bankruptcy in Germany.

Dubai-based investors in properties from the developer Alternative Capital Invest (ACI) have received notices in the past week to file claims as part of the liquidation of several funds in Germany set up to allow investors to take advantage of Dubai's property boom.

The bankruptcy proceedings of those funds will provide an important guide for how property developments with complex financing arrangements and ownership structures are dealt with as thousands of legal cases over property go through the courts here and abroad, lawyers say. It will also shed light on how successfully foreign courts can compel UAE companies to hand over assets.

ACI was known as one of the brashest developers in Dubai's property boom. It launched several celebrity-endorsed buildings, including towers named after Schumacher and fellow F1 driver Niki Lauda. But none of its 17 projects have been completed.

ACI funded its projects through direct sales and several investment funds in Germany, where a founder of the company, Robin Lohmann, is from. Since 2008, cases have been filed against those funds and ACI in Dubai as investors clamoured for the return of their money or completion of the buildings in which they invested.

Valeri Babak, an investor in the stalled Victory Bay tower in Business Bay, said he received a letter from the liquidator of the fifth of seven funds in Germany asking him to file a claim for what he is owed. The fifth fund, called Alternative Capital Invest GmbH & Co. V. Dubai Tower KG, was associated with Victory Bay.

The letter said the "insolvent" fund was being liquidated and the local court of the city of Bielefeld in Germany was overseeing the distribution of the company's assets.

Mr Lohmann, the managing director of ACI Real Estate in Dubai, did not answer calls or e-mails yesterday. German prosecutors told The National in September that they were investigating the management of ACI amid allegations of fraud and breach of trust.

Ludmila Yamalova, a managing partner at HPL Yamalova & Plewka in Dubai, said the impact of the case was still unclear, but the fact that Dubai buyers were starting to receive notices meant legal progress was being made.

"We are trying to understand what this means for people who invested in these buildings," she said.

"What is interesting is that the fund in Germany is being liquidated, but direct buyers of properties in Dubai are being notified as well. We interpret that as ACI Dubai also being insolvent."

Ms Yamalova said the courts were beginning to see the first official bankruptcy proceedings for property developers.

Investors were closely watching the first liquidation in the country for guidance on how the system woud handle redistributions of assets from insolvent companies. Al Murjan Real Estate in Umm al Qaiwain filed for liquidation in November, blaming an inability to get government planning approvals. It collected millions of dirhams in deposits from investors for the US$3 billion (Dh11bn) White Bay project on two islands in the emirate.

Mr Babak, the investor in Victory Bay, said he would file a claim with the liquidator in Germany but did not believe he would see any of the $800,000 he paid to ACI.

"I've been talking to them for two years and nothing has happened," he said. "I don't think they have any more assets. All we have been able to do is send letters."

[MANUTD]

Originally Posted by belal100

i am heading out to dubai on the 14th dec. I am based in england.

I will bring updates once I'm out there. No way are they getting away with my money.

Any1 wants to get in touch, plz email me belal.t@hotmail.co.uk

Only hope is ESCROW accounts --depends whats left in them --if anything -- although i,M told they bought the plots but never built hardly -- if projects cancelled there may be something left to distribute in DUBAI at least

[MATEMAN]

Originally Posted by MANUTD

Only hope is ESCROW accounts --depends whats left in them --if anything -- although i,M told they bought the plots but never built hardly -- if projects cancelled there may be something left to distribute in DUBAI at least

Hopefully, we will hear something this week. Escrow accounts should be safe, fingers crossed.