RIYADH, 18 April — A senior court in Jeddah has ordered the Mauritanian Embassy to vacate its consulate premises in the city and hand over the property to Abdullah Ibrahim Al-Sibaie.
In a recent verdict, the Jeddah High Court also nullified the sale of the land to the embassy on the ground that Muhammad Mahmoud Al-Shankeeti, the owner of the property, did not know about the sale.
The embassy purchased the land from Shankeeti’s son Yousuf, who was holding a power of attorney certified by a notary public in Madinah. But Shankeeti claimed that his son had concluded the deal without his permission.
The court said the embassy has no right now for appeal as 30 days have passed after the initial ruling in the case and neither the embassy nor its agent raised any objection to it.
However, the court said the embassy could file a lawsuit against the man who sold a property which was not owned by him.
During the court proceedings, the embassy had presented a copy of the power of attorney attested by the notary public in Madinah on Rajab 17, 1394.
According to the power of attorney, Shankeeti has authorized his son Yousuf to sell his real estate properties in Jeddah, receive the value of the properties and keep it with him.
But the court rejected the power of attorney after contacts with the notary public in Madinah, which said the document did not tally with its records.
Sibaie said his father bought the land on Rajab 19, 1411H, from its real owner and a deed was issued by the Jeddah High Court. He said the embassy bought the land from a person who does not own it.
“They also signed an agreement with the man without checking the deed and without receiving an endorsement from official authorities,” Sibaie added.
Sibaie said he was holding the land as a mortgage for the debts owed to him by its former owner. Sibaie urged the embassy to hand over the building and pay SR2.85 million in rent for the past 19 years.
Sayyidi Walad Badi, director of the Mauritanian consulate’s office in Jeddah, told Arab News that the embassy purchased the land and a building on Rajab 13, 1394, from the son of its real owner for SR800,000.
“We have paid all the money after receiving an approval from the Mauritanian government,” he said. “Three years later, the embassy agreed with a company owned by the real estate owner — and through his son — to build the embassy’s office on the land at a cost of SR1.6 million,” he explained.
After completion of the work, the embassy contacted the Saudi Foreign Ministry to register the building under the embassy and pass the related documents to the authorities for endorsement. During this period, the ambassador was changed and there was some sort of laxity in following up the matter.
Badi said the embassy caught off guard when it received a notification from the court, urging the embassy to hand over the building to Sibaie and pay the rent for the past 19 years.
