Damac properties, a Dubai-based real estate developer, filed an arbitration suit against the Egyptian government after a court convicted its chairman on land-related corruption charges.
Hussein Sanjawy, the company’s chairman, was sentenced to a five-year prison term. The court ordered the seizure of all land acquired by the company in Gamsha Bay near the Red Sea.
Sanjawy was convicted along with former Egyptian tourism minister Zuhair Garanah earlier this month. The court concluded that Garanah assisted Sanjawy in earning $41 million in illegal profits, causing damage to public welfare.
Damac was quick to dismiss the charges calling them “spurious.” The case was filed with the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), a World Bank entity.
The company announced that King & Spalding, an international law firm, will represent them in the dispute.
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