Dubai’s ruler has appointed a judicial committee to resolve a family dispute among the heirs of the late Majid Al Futtaim, founder of one of the emirate’s largest private companies.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s intervention is designed to oversee the transition of ownership of the Majid Al Futtaim (MAF) retail and leisure empire after the eponymous founder’s death in December. The company is a pillar of the Gulf state’s economy. There have been reports of discord among the founder’s ten heirs, seven people in Dubai briefed on the developments said.
The people said the committee’s role is to mediate among the shareholders and protect both the interests of the company and Dubai’s economy as the tourism and financial hub swings out of the coronavirus pandemic with surging growth. “MAF is too important to Dubai for the government not to keep an eye and help,” said one of the people briefed on the matter.
The committee’s role is “to adjudicate potential legal disputes related to Mr Majid’s estate and inheritance issues,” the company told the Financial Times. MAF said the committee would not oversee the company or its business. “As we work through this transition, our businesses are continuing their operations as normal,” it said.
With $16bn of assets worldwide, MAF is a mainstay of the Gulf’s tourist and commercial centre. The retail and leisure empire operates 29 malls, including Dubai’s Mall of the Emirates, and built the region’s first indoor ski slope.
Judicial committees, usually chaired by an executive or technocrat, are set up by the ruler when internal disputes threaten to disrupt family-owned businesses, which account for around 40 per cent of the United Arab Emirates’ economic output and are big employers.
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