Last year we finally gave up trying to get an Emirates wholly-owned subsidiary based at DXB to settle our bills from the previous year, and stopped supplying them. The liability was not questioned, but excuse after excuse, promise after promise, ridiculous questions about the invoice and service supplied (notwithstanding a formal Purchase Order) and finally, the internet equivalent of "the cheque's in the post" when it wasn't.
All the symptons, in short, of an organisation in the financial mire with a cash flow problem. Just like Dubai itself, in fact.