Exchange and becoming a private business. Controversies Crime and Misconduct Commission In 2006 the Queensland Crime and Misconduct Commission identified Soheil Abedian and the Sunland Group as key players in the 2004 Gold Coast Council election, noting that they had made improper hidden donations in order to gain political favors. Around the same time Sunland donated $18,000 to Gary Baildon during his election campaign to be Mayor of the Gold Coast which was raised to criticize Baildon's links to property developers during a 2016 Mayoral election debate. In May 2006, following the release of the Queensland Crime and Misconduct Commission report, Sunland managing director Sahba Abedian announced that the Sunland Group would not make any more donations to individual councillors of the Gold Coast City Council but also stated that the company would continue to make donations to political parties as every individual in Australia had a democratic right to do so. Dubai bribery case In March 2009 it was reported that Sunland executive David Brown, an architect and middle eastern head of the company, had been placed under arrest in Dubai, had his passport confiscated, and was interrogated at least eight times due to allegations of bribery in relation to a 2007 property deal. Matthew Joyce and Marcus Lee, employees of Dubai-based development company Nakheel, were placed under arrest at the same time as the allegations involved Sunland paying Nakheel millions of dollars in consultancy fees. Sunland managing director Sahba Abedian denied that Sunland was implicated in the investigation, however concerns were expressed that people were being made scapegoats. In May 2009 Sahba Abedian met with the Dubai prosecutor and advised that Sunland were going to launch legal proceedings in Australia which would require David Brown being able to travel to Australia to meet with lawyers regarding the case and Brown had his passport returned in July that year. Sunland later argued that Brown's passport being returned was unrelated and that it was only returned so he could attend his mothers birthday party, although he was unable to attend the party after returning to Australia. In 2009 Sunland accused Matthew Joyce and Marcus Lee of fraud alleging that Joyce, who was managing director of a Nakheel subsidiary, and Lee had conspired to trick the company into paying property developer Angus Reed $14 million before it could purchase a prime plot on the Dubai Waterfront. The case was heard in