Kabir Mulchandani - My Story In My Words

This is my blog and I would like it to have my story in my words. Some of you may have heard of me, and some of what you may have heard may not be very positive. Beginning in early 2009, I was accused of a range of professional failings. But none of those accusations are true. 

Nevertheless, as a consequence of those accusations, I spent 140 days in custody here in Dubai. With the support of my legal counsel, I have since completely cleared my name. I have been found innocent by every court. I first settled in Dubai with my family in 2004. Business was booming here and across the globe. It was then that I started a property investment company called Dynasty Enterprises. We were very successful.

A few years later, we merged our business with the business interests of Hilal Al Zarooni, to become Dynasty Zarooni. Between 2004 and late 2008, Dynasty Zarooni invested in, marketed and sold residential and commercial property, primarily in high-growth areas of Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The company carried out transactions during that period worth in excess of 6 billion dollars. Then Lehman Brothers went bust and, like the rest of the world, Dubai was impacted by the global financial downturn.

Not long after the start of the global financial crisis, a legal complaint was filed against me by a small group of investors whose cheques to the company had bounced. These large-scale investors, who had invested in multiple units, accused me of a range of made-up acts of wrongdoing, including that some of the projects we had sold were non-existent and that we did not have legal title to sell others that did exist.

Although the courts have since affirmed that all these claims were bogus, I understand why these investors did what they did. These investors had placed very large amounts of leveraged capital in a wide range of projects, including in some projects that we had sold them. After the sudden downturn in the Dubai property sector, these investors were left in an extremely precarious position.

They were highly leveraged, highly exposed and probably frightened. They had written very large cheques – to Dynasty Zarooni and other companies – that they knew were not going to clear. They understood that the consequences of that could be severe.

What they did next was understandable but still wrong: they tried to make me the fall guy. Over the past few years, I have spent a lot of time with my lawyers and in the courts.

Even though I have been completely exonerated – and found innocent of every single charge made against me – there are still times I look back and shake my head in wonder.

I’ve concluded that life is a lot like the property market: it’s cyclical, and full of ups and downs. Reaching the peak of the cycle can be exhilarating. Hitting bottom can be devastating.

If we believe in ourselves and what we are doing, though, we just have to accept that life is cyclical. Despite the challenges I have faced, I continue to invest in Dubai’s real estate sector because I believe there are clear opportunities for success.

Kabir Mulchandani

CEO Skai Holdings Dubai 

webmaster@skaiholdings.com