By Terence Dooley
David Haye, 34, was stopped at Dubai’s International Airport earlier this month and taken to a police station on accusations of fraud, according to a report in The Sun earlier today.
Haye, 26-2 (24), had his passport seized and was reportedly placed in a police cell while they investigated claims that he had issued a £341,000 bounced cheque. The cheque was for a property payment. Haye has been unable to leave the country and had to miss an engagement in Birmingham over the weekend as a result of what Haye claims is an admin error.
“The cheque was presented to the bank four days before I landed,” said Haye when speaking to The Sun. “It was not due to be presented until final completion of my property, which is due in a few weeks. This was an administrative error which is being rectified. I explained to the police and presented documents as proof. But I can totally understand these mistakes can happen.”
The former fighter has a month from the time of the arrest to pay the cheque’s amount in full. Bouncing a cheque is a crime in Dubai; the company who he made the cheque out to are linked to the government, which makes things doubly difficult for the former cruiserweight and WBA heavyweight champion.
Haye, however, has been relaxed about the whole thing, he has Tweeted photos of himself enjoying the sights of Dubai and attended a Robbie Williams concert there over the weekend, so while his personal freedom is secure there are concerns that his taste in music may still be languishing in a Dubai prison cell.
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