SHARJAH/DUBAI: A United Arab Emirates
Court on Sunday dismissed a
criminal case against the
founder of private equity firm Abraaj, Arif Naqvi, and another executive for issuing a cheque without sufficient funds, after the claimant dropped the complaint.The dismissal of the
case provides breathing room for Naqvi as Dubai-based
Abraaj tries to sell its investment management business after filing for provisional liquidation in the Cayman Islands last month. Investor confidence in the Middle East´s largest private equity fund had already been shaken by a dispute with investors over the use of their money in a $1 billion healthcare fund, which has led to a halt in fund-raising activities and sparked debt repayment problems.
Abraaj denies any wrongdoing. The
Court case related to a cheque for 177.1 million dirhams ($48m), signed by Naqvi and fellow executive Muhammad Rafique Lakhani, and written to Hamid Jafar, another founding shareholder in Abraaj, a prosecution document showed.
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