Honest Review of Hamdan Al Shamsi &…
Honest Review of Hamdan Al Shamsi & Associates Background of the Case In 2012, I engaged the services of Hamdan Al Shamsi & Associates to recover a substantial sum lost in a fraud case based in Dubai. The amount in question was £75,000, equivalent to AED 353,000, with an additional AED 177,450. The legal proceedings were launched in 2012, and a judgment was finally issued in 2019 against Shara Management GCC and Abdulla Al-Rais Real Estate in Dubai. Enforcement Challenges When it came time to enforce the judgment, Hamdan Al Shamsi initiated actions against Abdulla, which included blocking his accounts. However, during the investigation, Abdulla successfully argued in court that he was not connected to Abdulla Al Rais Real Estate, which led to complications. Due Diligence Concerns An error in due diligence became apparent when Hamdan Al Shamsi acquired a passport copy from the Dubai Land Department (DLD). It revealed that the defendant's name had been incorrectly recorded in the petition as Abdulla Mohammad Abdul Karim Al Rais, rather than his actual name, Abdulla Mohammad Abdul Aziz Al-Rais. This oversight was significant because it was discovered that Abdulla had left Dubai in 2005, prior to the property's purchase in 2007, and was actually a Bahraini national, not based in Dubai. Contractual and Financial Issues The contract initially stipulated a fee of AED 45,000, which I paid. However, several months later, I received an invoice for an additional AED 20,000 for his secretary's training fee, which was not outlined in the contract. Despite this, I paid the amount. Moreover, there were unjustified charges for translations and photocopies, and Hamdan retained AED 20,000 from the recovery from Shara for potential future use, which has yet to be returned. Hamdan also requested AED 5,000 every six months until the recovery was completed from Bahrain, along with a 10% commission for his friend advocate in Bahrain and a 5% commission for himself. I refused these terms, as they seemed to be a continuous financial drain with no clear resolution. The Fraud Incident The fraud was orchestrated by a professional fraudster named Farooq Ahmed in Manchester. He persuaded me to transfer money to Abdulla Al Rais's account at Standard Chartered Bank in Dubai. This was part of a larger scam involving his accomplices, including Adnan Iqbal, Suhail Yaqoob, and Shahab Uddin Sheikh, who operated a fraudulent website in Dubai. Farooq Ahmed is also implicated in a significant money laundering case in the UK and has defrauded HMRC by evading company taxes. Conclusion My experience with Hamdan Al Shamsi & Associates has been fraught with challenges, from due diligence errors to unexpected and unjustified costs. The case's complexities were compounded by the need for precise legal and investigative actions, which were not adequately addressed. While the initial contract was clear, subsequent financial demands and lack of transparency have left me dissatisfied and wary of further engagements without thorough scrutiny. I would not recommend him at all.