AMERICAN GULF INSURANCE CORPORATION (AGI) FILES CIVIL AND CRIMINAL FRAUD, THEFT, KIDNAPPING LAWSUIT AGAINST HIGHLY PLACED OFFICIALS AFFILIATED WITH THE ROYAL FAMILY AND GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (U.A.E.)

Serves As Cautionary Story for American Investors Looking to Do Business in UAE

AGI’s Suit Seeks to Recover $18 Million

Long Island Investor, Howard Fensterman, Calls on U.S. Secretary of State and State Department to
Warn Americans about Business Practices in UAE

Lake Success, NY (October 13, 2010) -- American Gulf Insurance Corporation, (AGI), an insurance company organized to conduct business in the U.A.E., has filed a lawsuit in Florida state court, seeking compensatory and punitive damages for conspiracy, fraud, civil theft, kidnapping and false imprisonment against highly placed government officials of the United Arab Emirates and Abu Dhabi, who also are affiliated with the Royal Family of Abu Dhabi.

“This is a cautionary story of fraud and criminal behavior - - including embezzlement from AGI’s business bank accounts in the U.A.E., forgery of signatures and the creation of falsified bank statements perpetrated by prominent people affiliated with the Royal Family of Abu Dhabi,” according to Howard Fensterman, managing partner of Abrams Fensterman, a law firm located in New York City and on Long Island, a businessman, and an investor, who, in addition to investing his own money in the AGI offering, raised a majority of the money that was lost by more than 30 other American investors.

“This involves not just civil wrong-doing, but also criminal acts - - which have not been aggressively pursued by members of the ruling Royal Family and by U.A.E. law enforcement,” Fensterman explains.

In all, there were over 16 U.A.E. nationals involved as “sponsors” and locally appointed board members of AGI that are high ranking members and close relatives of the Royal Family including Sheikh Hazza Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a member of the Royal Family of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and brother of the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi. Sheikh Hazza is the National Security Advisor of the United Arab Emirates and assumed the role of the Sponsor of AGI. 

Details of the claims are contained in the lawsuit against Abu Dhabi, Union National Bank, Emirates Bank International, Mohamed Bin Thaaloob Salem Al Darei (Chief of Staff of National Security Advisor, Sheik Hazza, Sponsor of AGI), Akram Kanakrieh (President of the Chairman’s office of the Crown Prince), Mohamed Saeed Sulaiman, Mohamed Al Mazrouei (appointed by Sheik Hazza to be the sponsor of AGI and also a member of the Criminal Investigative Division [CID] of Abu Dhabi, and who is related to the Royal Family of Abu Dhabi as a member of the family of the wife of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the ruler of Abu Dhabi and the President of the U.A.E.) and Saif Mizrouei, brother of Mohamed Mizrouei, also related to the Royal Family of Abu Dhabi.

The lawsuit grows out of the theft of $18 million - - the funds required in accordance with UAE law as necessary for proceeding with an initial public offering for American Gulf Insurance in the U.A.E.

According to Mr. Fensterman, “At the very least, this is an investment gone wrong, not because of the quality or efficacy of the investment itself, but because under no circumstances can anyone reasonably protect against deliberate, planned fraud and theft, coupled with criminal misconduct, especially when the individuals responsible for the misdeeds are associated with the U.A.E. government and Royal family.” 

“The investment allure represented and visibly marketed by the U.A.E. stands in stark contrast to these facts,” comments Fensterman. “This is especially true against a backdrop of high profile advertising and promotion in recent years designed to solicit and induce U.S. investors and businesses to undertake investments in Abu Dhabi and the U.A.E.,” he notes.

Calls On Secretary of State Clinton To Warn American Investors and Businesses
Fensterman is calling for a complete investigation by all appropriate branches of the United States Government. “This fraud and the criminal mistreatment of an American citizen in the UAE demand the attention of Congress, our Ambassadors to the U.A.E. and the State Department,” he said. Toward this end, he has written directly to Secretary Clinton (letter attached.)