Dubai tourist settles Dh170,000 fine for speeding in Lamborghini

The British tourist who racked up more than Dh170,000 in speeding fines after renting a Lamborghini while on holiday in Dubai, has finally settled his bill.
Paying off Dh117,000 in fines via the Dubai Traffic Police Headquarters on Thursday morning, Farah Hashi exclusively told Khaleej Times that the whole story "escalated way too quickly".
"Look, I hold my hands up to the fines and the speeding. I'm not going to make any excuses. I was a 25-year-old guy in a Lamborghini, I was stupid and I take full responsibility. But seeing my name all over the news has been crazy. I didn't talk until now because I didn't want to jeopardise getting my passport back."
On July 31, between 2.31am and 6.25am, Hashi's spin in the rented luxury Lamborghini Huracan quickly turned into a very expensive drive after he was caught speeding by 35 separate radars, clocking speeds of more than 200kmph on several occasions. "I didn't see them flash to be honest. I guess because of the speed I was going at. In the UK, the speeding cameras are yellow and you can clearly see them but I'm a tourist here so couldn't spot the cameras.
Again, it's not an excuse for speeding, I know that was wrong, but it is the truth," Hashi said. On Thursday, the father-of-one settled on an agreed fine amount at the Traffic Police Department with Mohammed Ibrahim, the man who runs Saeed Ali Rent a Car.
Sharing the paperwork with Khaleej Times, Hashi said he received a discount in fines of more than Dh50,000 and that the cooperation from the British Embassy and Dubai Traffic Police has been a big help, as well as support from friends in the UK.
"The boys back home had a hell of a whip around for me and managed to come up with the cash. You know, £3,000 here, £2,000 there, and they managed to raise enough. Then my brother flew out a few days ago and we paid it all off today."
Only after paying the fines was Hashi's passport finally returned to him after two weeks by Ibrahim.
Hoping to fly back to the UK on Friday, he said the rental company who own the Lamborghini has not been telling the whole truth.
"Now I want to tell my side of the story."
In contrast to Ibrahim's claims to Khaleej Times on Monday, Hashi said he never signed any contract with the rental car company after landing in Dubai. And he never handed his passport over at the time of taking the vehicle on July 30.
"The man who runs the rental car company is the cousin of my friend in the UK.
Before flying to Dubai his cousin; my friend, arranged the rental for me and I paid him £1,500 in cash for 4-days rental. No contract was ever signed between us. It was like a verbal, friendly contract because we had a mutual acquaintance. When I landed in Dubai, Mohammed met me at my hotel, gave me the car keys and left. No paperwork signed at all!"
It was on the second day of the rental, on July 31, when a representative from the rental company went back to Hashi's hotel to tell him of the fines he had incurred.
"That's when they took my passport as a security. They told me I had a few speeding fines and that they needed to be paid. In the UK fines cost between £60-120 so I thought at worst I would pay about £1,000 (approx Dh4,700). I didn't have any cash on me at that time so I gave him my passport. Only after did I find out how large the fines were. I take responsibility for speeding, but the company has been lying about the paperwork signed. That's why they took my passport, when really they shouldn't have. It was their only security on me. I never once refused to pay the fines, I just needed time to raise the cash."
Since paying the fines, Hashi has found out that the vehicle has an alleged expired registration.
According to the Roads and Transport Authority's (RTA) public portal, the car's registration (A5076), expired on July 16. The car was rented to Hashi on July 30.
The RTA website also states that it does not hold valid insurance details for the vehicle, however it does state that the system may not be updated.
When Ibrahim was contacted for comment about the issue, he did not respond to several requests from Khaleej Times.
kelly@khaleejtimes.com

• UAE
• Dubai

Kelly Clarke

kelly@khaleejtimes.com