'When the world fell from under Safi Qurashi's feet'

“"I have worked with Safi , I was his P.A , i know him well enough to say he is one of the most honest and kindest yet professional business man i have ever worked with . I have seen his account numbers , his personal and his company . 200 ML AED is not a number for him to have his life and his family under such a pain . I have seen his charity donations . Im sure he has been fighting to have his rights back . I wish him luck and Strength in this journey ."”

“Funny story - he lost his house - how come if he makes a Billion as he says. One thing that I am curious about with these so called flash in th pan investors from UK and Europe - do they read on laws of the country before coming over or do they think this is another Spain - scam and run and never get caught and leave your victims high and dry. But as I have said before regarding bounced cheque issues in UAE - which they assume your family and relatives (old mentality) should pay on your behalf - putting people in jail isnt solving the problem and each case should be reviewed on individual cir***tsances not generalise. Also the courts here need to hear both sides of the story and solve the payments in a reasonable way especially with people who can pay. I know a lady who was thrown in jail over Dhs 6,000 while her two young children were left alone to fend for themselves. When we paid the money in the morning they said we need a judge to sign the release warrant but there wasnt one around until next morning. Also alot of people have been thrown in jail over mistaken identity and no apologies. By the way - when you are released you need to go to authorities to clear your name from the Wanted list or you cannot exit from the country. Plenty of horror stories on this subject - atleast these guys are lucky cause as expats they get publicity but what about those who dont have a voice and yes plenty of them sitting silently rotting away year after year.”

“I wish that Govt of Dubai listens to the constant appeals of Safi, Mustafa and Yousaf. They are innocent people, their families are strugglings since long time!!! I believe that Court must provide them a chance to hear on their part.”

“He MUST be released. Surely common sense has to prevail. If he owes no money than what on earth is he serving a 7 year sentence for. With bounced cheques which are very much talked about in the UAE, especially Dubai, we need to consider the following:
There are 3 groups when it comes to bounced cheques. No.1 The defendant is a crook. He went out to cheat people. No 2 The defendant has no bad faith but he or his company has run into financial difficulty . In this scenario the complainer has the right in the absence of insolvency laws to make a complaint in order to be able to know how money can be paid back to him. No.3 the complainer is a crook and is trying to extort more money by mis-using a cheque. In sceanrio 1 the courts (as they would be in most civilised places in the world, which I think UAE definately considers it is a part of)would be subjected to a crminal complaint and criminal charges that could lead to either a fine or imprisonment. But the court will as per the law will look at the evidence and judge accordingly. In scenario 2 you have those who are in debt predominantly. These people shouyld not and cannot be imprisoned as per the UAE Law and the Arab Charter on Human Rights. The most effective way for authorities, banks and individuals to deal with such a scenario will be through debt restructuring, arbitration and negotiation. ( This is of course in the absence of proper bankrupty /insolvency laws) Imprisonment is not appropraite or beneficial to any of the 2 parties. Scenario 3. In this bounced cheque scenario the complainer should be imprisoned for fraud as the one who wrote the cheque is actually the victim & the cheque is being mis used. this seems to be the case of Mr.safi Qurashi. For as long as bounced cheques are viewed as ONLY scenario 1 I'm afraid people are at risk of being imprisoned. i read a wonderful article in which a suggestion to have a seperate panel/committee review bounced cheque cases so that they can either be passed to a criminal court for prosecutors to deal with against the complainer or defendant. STOP assuming the one who wrote the cheque is trying to do check fraud. It works both ways. If the panel/comittee feel that the case is a debt recovery case than it should be assigned to an agency that can fast track to attach assets, issue travel restrictions and mediate to work out a way to restructure the debt to the mutual benefit of both parties. Its clear from factual research that it is not the law that needs to be changed. Check fraud is check fraud, however the mindset and understanding of how a bounced cheque equates to fraud must be brought in line with the actual law in the courts system. Dubai is a great place, like everywhere in the world with its challenges but imprisoning prosperous businessmen will be of no benefit. It is important establish a panel that reviews bounced cheque cases as an area of specialism and for there to be clear guidlines as to what should be included in a contract when post dated and security cheques are issued. We must all work together to ensure that the fraudsters are punished, those who are unfortunate and end up in debt are assisted through effective debt management solutions by restructuring, and the innocent are not wrongly imprisoned. The mere act of a cheuqe bouncing MUST NOT be viewed as a crime.”

“Great Article, where is the justice? Poor Investors.”