Emirates Islamic Bank said that a 61-year old Emirati businessman has won the top prize of Dh1 million ($272,000) in the bank’s quarterly Kunooz draw.

Mohammad Abdulla S A. Al Maidoor won the grand cash prize, while Palestinian National Ali El Ghalayani claimed a studio apartment, and Morrocan Fouad El Yaagoubi won a Mercedes SLS AMG car.

“I opened a Kunooz account a couple of years back,” said Al Maidoor, a UAE national who works in trade. “I decided to deposit some spare cash into it and I’ve kept it there ever since, and was not really planning to use it. It was a real surprise when I received the call from the bank to inform me that I had won Dh1 million, so it has turned out to be a good move.”

El Ghalayani, who works as an accountant for a UAE-based company, was informed of the good news almost a year to the day after his wedding. He opened a Kunooz account on his father’s advice sometime back. “Five years ago, my dad came told me about a new savings product from the bank and said: ‘Save your money in it. You never know!’”

El Ghalayani deposited Dh5,000 in his Kunooz account and has left it there ever since, he said.

An e-commerce professional, El Yaagoubi selected Kunooz for its ability to optimise the returns on his savings in a Sharia compliant manner. Since opening an account in 2010, he never thought his name would be announced as a winner of a Mercedes SLS AMG.

“It’s my first time to win a big prize with Kunooz. It came as a complete shock when the bank phoned with the great news,” he said.

During the second quarter’s special introductory offer campaign, 42 lucky customers won prizes worth a total of Dh3.1 million, including three weekly cash prizes of Dh 25,000 each.

Faisal Aqil, deputy CEO-Consumer Wealth Management, Emirates Islamic Bank said: “Our Kunooz Account is designed to encourage customers to develop the habit of saving and at the same time win fabulous prizes in a truly Sharia-compliant manner. All three winners are great examples of customers who chose Kunooz to achieve a specific goal in their life.”

The next quarterly grand draw will be conducted on October 6, which includes a Bentley GT V8, besides an apartment and another Dh1 million as well as cash prizes. – TradeArabia News Service