After 21 hearings, Chris O'Donnell, the Australian chief executive of Dubai's major developer, Nakheel, came to the defence of his former colleagues Matthew Joyce and Marcus Lee.
Mr Joyce and Mr Lee are accused of profiting from the sale of land that had been earmarked for a colossal high-rise development, which was to include the futuristic construction known as the Atrium, but which has never got off the ground. In a very Australian story, the two men are accused of deceiving the buyer of the plot, the Gold Coast developer Sunland, and harming Nakheel, Dubai Waterfront's parent company.
Since their arrest in January 2009, Mr Joyce and Mr Lee have maintained they are innocent. Their passports confiscated, neither allowed to work, they are trapped with their families in a city where food prices are soaring and rent remains expensive despite the property crash. If convicted, the men could face long jail terms in the Middle East.
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