Website of Dubai prince’s family office goes offline, HSUHK deletes references in press release

The website of the private office of Sheikh Ali Al Maktoum, revealed to be once a popular singer under the name “Alira” with a fan base in the Philippines, has gone offline since Wednesday and cannot be reached. 

Apart from introducing the prince, who belongs to a "distant branch" of the ruling family of Dubai, the website also showed the full list of staff for his family office and photos of Sheikh Ali attending different events.

The public relations representatives for Sheikh Ali said they didn’t know that the website has gone offline and will learn more about the situation first. 

They also referred to a press release issued last Monday (Apr 1) that the opening ceremony for the US$500 million family office has been postponed to the end of May. 

Eleanor Jane Mak, the office’s vice-chair and CEO, refused to comment on matters related to Sheikh Ali when approached by the media. 

Last December, Sheikh Ali visited the Hang Seng University of Hong Kong and met with president Simon Ho Shun-man and other members of the university’s senior management. And during his second visit on March 26, Sheikh Ali signed a memorandum of understanding and was appointed an honorary professor. 

Yet, it was recently revealed that HSUHK has amended the press release that day and deleted all references related to Sheikh Ali. 

Responding to media enquiries, HSUHK said the MoU and the appointment remain effective. 

The opening of the family office was scheduled on March 28 but was pulled at the eleventh hour.

On April 2, Sheikh Ali’s singer identity was exposed and it was found out that his portrait in the Sheung Wan office had been removed.