Hydra Properties has turned out to be a massive ponzi scheme.
What is surprising is that this all seems to have been ignored or possibly assisted by prominent people in Abu Dhabi
Hydra is a subsiduary company of the Royal Group in Abu Dhabi.
Royal Group | Welcome In fact they are still listed on its website with the following under The Group, Properties:
Hydra Properties is changing the landscape of the UAE. With its development projects including Hydra Village, Golf Walk, Hydra Avenue in Abu Dhabi, Hydra Towers, Downtown Towers and Hydra Twin Towers in Dubai, UAE's most popular brand is creating development with function and style.
The Royal group has the money and backing to complete the few projects that have not been scrapped. To date as far as I am aware, Hydra has not handed over a single property. Can anyone confirm this?
One of the previous CEO's of Hydra carried the title of "Doctor". This turned out to be untrue. His professed Phd was not even a degree at the University where it supposedly originated.
Contracts were signed, press released issued claiming completion of Hydra Village as early as 2009. All subsequent promised were broken as this date was extended and extended. Their last "update" was in March 2012
Contracted prices were increased, 3 bedroom units turned into 2 bedroom units, other specification promises were denied.
People were threatened with loss of their money for non payment of installments when clearly nothing was being built. Open days were had showing an embarrassingly bad product hastily erected to stop the growning dissatisfaction.
Hydra properties sold property to the tune of around 18 billion Dirhams and collected at least 2 to 3 billion without delivering a thing. Projects were cancelled and investors often forced into another project that again was delayed or cancelled and will probably never be delivered.
Many of those who took Hydra to court and won have not seen a dirham for their expensive attempts to extract repayment for so many failures of the company.
Hundreds of people lost their savings, many are still paying mortgages on properties that will never be delivered. Lives have been distroyed by this company. Despite many legal cases, the authorities have never stepped in to investigate what appears to be at the least to be blatant violation of UAE law.
The story of Hydra Properties should be a stark lesson in investing in UAE and in particular Abu Dhabi property. You have no protection, no matter what the agreement or contract. It turns out not even the courts can enforce them.