JEDDAH, 15 April 2008 — The Ninth Circuit Court for Commercial Disputes at the Court of Grievances is scheduled to re-examine today the case of Fuad Al-Ajhury, the mastermind in a notorious property scam that occurred in 1983.
Al-Ajhury was arrested and convicted on the charge of collecting SR700 million as investments from 9,000 clients to develop a fictitious real estate project. He was also involved in illegal land sales in the Al-Shatie district of Jeddah.
After his release from a jail in Riyadh last month Al-Ajhury was directed to appear before the Court of Grievances. But he did not respond to the court summons and he was suspected to have fled the country.
Following the demand of the victims of Al-Ajhury’s swindling operations, the Court of Grievances appointed several assessors to locate and examine his assets for confiscation and payment of compensation.
Abdul Rahman Naseef, one of the receivers, told Arab News that no property was found in the possession of Al-Ajhury in the country or abroad. He said the Court of Grievances, which knew about his properties, was the supervising authority for the disposal of the properties.
Naseef hinted that the case might drag on as it involved millions of riyals belonging to thousands of people.
Al-Ajhury spent 25 years in jail and was released last month following the mediation of the National Society for Human Rights after a visit to the jail where he was confined. The Saudi rights watchdog pointed out that the issue would be amicably settled if he was freed and given a chance to negotiate with his old clients.
