Khoie Properties, the developer behind a proposed Dh2bn (US$545m) project on the man-made island of Al Marjan in Ras al Khaimah, is insolvent, its chief financial officer has said.

The La Hoya Bay project was sold to hundreds of investors, many from Britain, who are now pressing the Government of Ras al Khaimah to intervene because little progress has been made.

A senior member of the board of Khoie Properties is in jail after being detained by police for allegedly failing to honour a cheque written to pay for the land.

'The company being insolvent means you are unable to meet your liabilities. So it is basically insolvent,' said Ahmad Jazayeri, the chief financial officer of Khoie Properties.

The National