Acquitted executive, wife trapped in Dubai as prosecutors lodge appeal Stuck in Dubai: Marcus Lee and his wife Julie. An Australian executive acquitted of fraud-related charges in Dubai has been rocked by the news that prosecutors will appeal against the verdict. The decision means Marcus Lee and his wife are likely to spend at least another year in the emirate, where Mr Lee has been held under effective house arrest for more than four years. "Julie and I are both devastated by the news," Mr Lee told Fairfax Media. Under Australian law, prosecutors are unable to appeal an acquittal. Jailed for 10 years: Matt Joyce with his family. Mr Lee has called on his original accusers, the Australian developer Sunland and its executive, David Brown, to urgently tell the Dubai prosecutors that they "now regard me as innocent." Sunland has denied a claim in parliament that Mr Brown has fled Australia. Victorian Liberal Senator Helen Kroger told an inquiry on Tuesday: "I have only heard today that the key witness Mr David Brown has done a runner and has absconded from Australia ... I understand he's absconded and one can only read into this why he would have done this. Sunland responded that Mr Brown was in Australia and working as usual. It called the claims "irresponsible" and "reckless to the truth" and "another attempt by Senator Kroger to discredit Sunland and its executives by using parliamentary privilege." While Mr Lee was acquitted on May 20, his former colleague Matt Joyce was sentenced to 10 years' jail and a $25 million fine. Melbourne businessman Angus Reed, tried in absentia, was given the same sentence after he and Joyce were found guilty of duping Sunland into paying them more than $12 million so it could then by a plot of land from Joyce's employer, the government-owned master developer Nakheel. Both insist they are innocent. Mr Lee was unanimously acquitted by a panel of four judges after an expert committee's report to the Ruler's Court, which made the findings that he received no money or benefits from any transaction, he had prepared a report on the sale of the plot as part of his job, and it was formally approved by Nakheel's executive committee, including its chief executive officer, Chris O'Donnell, also an Australian. Mr Lee said on Wednesday: "Although we remain confident that my acquittal will be upheld by the Court of Appeal, we have now been caught up in this process for almost 4 1/2 years. We are totally exhausted and have lost everything we ever worked for. The expert report "completely acquitted me of any wrongdoing. Following these clear findings, Julie and I hoped we would soon be allowed to see our families again and move on with our lives. We will continue to fight these charges. I am innocent of the accusations against me. We remain optimistic that the Dubai justice system will consider the clear evidence in support of my case and that the truth will prevail. The couple's passports have not yet been returned to them. Ms Lee had to forfeit her passport as one of the conditions of her husband's bail application when he and Joyce were released after nine months in prison in 2009. Mr Lee said: "Both Julie and I call on Sunland and its senior executive, David Brown, to immediately directly inform the Dubai Prosecutors of the fact that Sunland now regards me as innocent and Mr Brown wishes to withdraw the false written statements he made against me in January and February 2009. We have been asking Sunland and David Brown to directly correct the record for more than four years and, for so long as they fail or refuse to do so, we will continue to be caught up in this process. The Australian Foreign Affairs Minister, Bob Carr, had told his counterpart in the United Arab Emirates that he hoped no appeal would be lodged against Mr Lee's acquittal. However, the reply was that the prosecutor would normally lodge one. Dubai Prosecutions lodged the appeal on the last day of the 15-day appeal period. Mr Lee's Australian lawyer, John Sneddon, from Shand Taylor Lawyers in Brisbane, said: "We have always known that acquittals are usually appealed in Dubai but we are obviously still very disappointed by the news that the appeal has been filed. However, we remain optimistic about Marcus' prospects and believe his acquittal will be upheld on appeal. It is clear from all of the evidence that Marcus Lee was not involved in any crime. We will therefore continue to contest these charges and work to secure Marcus and Julie's eventual return to Australia. Regrettably, however, this may now take as much as a year. Aside from the legal issues, my principal concerns relate to Marcus and Julie's welfare and medical health. They have been caught up in this process for more than four years and I am worried about how much more they can endure. While Mr Lee wants an unequivocal statement from Sunland to the prosecutors, defence evidence presented over the past four years has included a letter from Sunland Group and David Brown withdrawing previous statements and allegations against Mr Lee. Sunland said Mr Lee's "innocence or otherwise is a matter for the Dubai criminal courts." Sunland is not party to information the Dubai prosecutor may have or be relying upon as to Mr Lee's involvement in the transaction in addition to the evidence already provided. Sunland has no claim against Mr Lee in Australia. Sunland has provided a exculpatory letter to Mr Lee.