US embassy cable - 05DOHA1733

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DOHA 001733 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE PLEASE PASS TO USTR - J. BUNTIN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON, ETRD, QA 
SUBJECT: QATAR CONVICTS TWO EXECUTIVES OF INSIDER TRADING 
 
 
1.  (SBU)  Summary.  The State of Qatar recently convicted 
two senior corporate executives on charges of insider trading 
on the Doha Stock Exchange.  One of the executives convicted, 
Saeed Abdullah Al-Misnad, is an uncle to the Amir's wife, the 
powerful Sheikha Mozah Bin Nasser Al-Misnad.  When the 
Attorney General met with Sheikha Mozah to inform her about 
her uncle's case, and seek her guidance on how to handle it, 
Sheikha Mozah reportedly told the Attorney General to perform 
his duties as required, regardless of the parties involved. 
These convictions suggest that Qatari leadership is making 
genuine efforts to improve transparency, rule of law, and 
respectable corporate governance.  End Summary. 
 
2.  (U) The State of Qatar has convicted two senior corporate 
executives on charges of insider trading on the Doha Stock 
Exchange.  Saeed Abdullah Al-Misnad, then chief executive of 
Qatar National Bank (QNB), and Nasser Saeed Al-Rumaihi, 
general manager of Qatar Shipping, were each sentenced to 
three months in jail.  Mr. Al-Misnad is appealing his case. 
Ali Sherif Al-Emadi, a former Risk Manager at QNB, was also 
implicated in the insider trading but was not charged. 
 
3.  (U) The case centers on claims that Al-Misnad, 
Al-Rumaihi, Ali Al-Emadi, and others bought shares in Qatar 
Shipping in late 2003 and 2004 knowing that the company was 
planning to acquire a small private firm called MECON, a 
subsidiary of Mannai Corporation.  The accused made large 
profits from Qatar Shipping shares, which shot up 
significantly after the acquisition was announced.  Qatar 
Shipping bought MECON in April 2004 in a deal worth about USD 
$6.87 million.  Upon selling their shares, both QNB 
executives allegedly earned approximately $1,500,000 on the 
transaction. 
 
4.  (SBU) On September 29, 2005, Econoff and Commercial 
Assistant met with Fahad Bin Faisal Al-Thani, Deputy Governor 
of the Qatar Central Bank.  According to Sheikh Fahad, since 
the people involved were prominent members of Qatari society, 
the Attorney General took cautious steps before going public 
with details of the case.  Al-Misnad is an uncle to the 
Amir's wife, Sheikha Mozah.  Sheikh Fahad stated that the 
Attorney General had met with Sheikha Mozah to inform her 
about her uncle's case, and sought her guidance on how to 
handle it.  Sheikha Mozah reportedly told the Attorney 
General to perform his duties as required, regardless of the 
parties involved. 
 
5.  (SBU) Sheikh Fahad also noted that the Attorney General 
gave both QNB executives the opportunity to admit their 
illegal activities.  According to reports, Al-Misnad 
persisted in claiming that he did nothing wrong, that the 
money he made on the stock transaction was absolutely 
legitimate, and that he was confident the Qatari judicial 
system would absolve him of any wrongdoing.  Conversely, Ali 
Al-Emadi offered to return all money he made on the deal to 
stop any prosecution from going forward against him.  The 
Attorney General accepted Ali Al-Emadi's offer, and proceeded 
to prosecute Al-Misnad. 
 
6.  (SBU) Sheikh Fahad also noted that after the conviction, 
QNB would not keep Al-Misnad on as CEO, as that would violate 
Central Bank regulations, and that Al-Misnad would never 
again be allowed to work in an executive position at any bank 
in Qatar.  Although Ali Al-Emadi turned in the money he 
gained from the transaction, Sheikh Fahad stated that he and 
Central Bank Governor Abdallah Bin Khalid Al-Attiyah agreed 
that Ali Al-Emadi should be treated the same as Al-Misnad. 
He noted that Ali Al-Emadi is supported by Yousef Hussain 
Kamal, Minister of Finance and Chairman of QNB, who believes 
that since Ali Al-Emadi was neither convicted nor sentenced 
he should not be removed from his duties at the bank. 
Minister Yousef Kamal's support for Ali Al-Emadi is not 
surprising, as both are members of Al-Emadad, a tribe of 
Iranian extraction. 
 
7. (SBU) Ali Al-Emadi is currently acting as CEO of QNB; 
however, according to Sheikh Fahad, he is likely not be 
confirmed as official CEO as long as the Central Bank 
Governor and Deputy Governor are, respectively, Abdallah Bin 
Khalid Al-Attiyah and himself. 
 
8.  (SBU) This is not the first case of stock manipulation 
that has grabbed the public's attention in Qatar.  The first 
case involved Ali Hussain Ibrahim Al-Fardan and two Egyptian 
expatriates.  Initially, Qatar Airway's CEO Akbar Al Baker 
was also implicated in the case; however, First Deputy Prime 
Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Hamad Bin 
Jassim Bin Jaber Al-Thani used his leverage to help get Al 
Baker out of trouble.  The second case resulted in the 
dismissal of three high-level ministers of government: 
Mohammad Bin Eisa Al Muhannadi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs; 
Mohammad Bin Abdul Latif Al Mana, Minister of Endowments and 
Islamic Affairs, and Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammad Al-Thani, 
Chief of the Emiri Diwan, who were alleged to have been 
involved in the illegal trading of Qatar Natural Gas 
Transport Company shares. 
 
9.  (U) Comment.  These convictions suggest that Qatari 
leadership is making genuine efforts to improve transparency, 
rule of law, and respectable corporate governance.  Although 
there has been progress, there is still some resistance in 
both high and lower levels of government.  The control body 
of the Doha Securities Market and other government agencies 
are also striving to preserve the interest of small investors 
and make transparency the norm in all financial transactions. 
  End Comment. 
 
 
UNTERMEYER