Private Equity News & Analysis

Abraaj’s unravelling: by the numbers

On Tuesday Arif Naqvi reached a settlement in a $217m bounced cheque case. PEI looks at the figures that could play a role in further developments.

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It could be some time before the full implications of Abraaj Group‘s fall from grace become clear.

On Tuesday Arif Naqvi reached a settlement with Hamid Jafar, founder of Crescent Group and an Abraaj shareholder, over an alleged $217 million bounced cheque issued by the former. The founder of the embattled emerging markets investor was sentenced to three years in prison on Sunday, according to a Bloomberg report.

Under UAE criminal law charges based on bounced cheques are extinguished once parties reach a settlement, Naqvi’s lawyer Habib Al Mulla, executive chairman at law firm Baker McKenzie, told Private Equity International.

“Accordingly, the parties will apply to the court and the public prosecution to withdraw the cases brought on the bounced cheques,” Al Mulla said.