Property group Sunland takes action after Australian property executives charged with fraud in Dubai

Queensland property developer Sunland Development Group has made a formal complaint to Australian authorities against two Australian property executives charged with fraud in Dubai.

Matt Joyce and Marcus Lee, who are former employees of Dubai property giant Nahkheel, have been in a Dubai prison since the beginning of the year, but were only charged earlier this week.

Their lawyer has denied the allegations against them and they are expected to plead not guilty when they appear in court over the charges in the next two weeks.

But the pair may also face civil proceedings back in Australia following Sunland’s actions.

The company said that the charges relate in part to the purchase by a Sunland subsidiary of a site known as Dubai Waterfront, which was sold by Nahkhell in October 2007.

Sunland managing director Sahba Abedian said in a statement that his company had been assisting Dubai authorities with their investigations since December.

“Sunland has also taken steps to report the action of certain individuals to the Australian authorities and we are investigating civil remedies in respect of the alleged fraud,” he said.

“As the matter is now with the authorities, Sunland cannot make any further comment at this time.”

Sunland also confirmed that one of its own Australian employees in Dubai, David Brown, has had his passport returned by Dubai authorities.

Sunland says he was a witness to the fraud investigations and was never detained.