UAE court to issue judgment against Abraaj founder on Aug.26: report

A UAE court will issue a judgment against Arif Naqvi, the founder of private equity firm Abraaj Group, and another executive, for issuing a check without sufficient funds on Aug.26, Reuters reported.

The criminal case in Sharjah relates to a bad check for AED 798 million ($217.3 million) written to Hamid Jafar, another founding shareholder in Abraaj.

The court on Tuesday reserved the case for judgment on Aug.26, Khalid Al-Bannay from Al Tamimi & Co, the law firm representing Jafar, told the news agency.

While Habib Al-Mulla, Naqvi’s lawyer, said the court’s decision was expected, he added that "negotiations were still ongoing between the parties and hopefully they will reach a settlement before the next hearing."

In June, Abraaj filed for provisional liquidation in the Cayman Islands, with the provisional liquidators trying to sell its investment management business.

Potential buyers for the investment management business include a partnership of Kuwait’s Agility and United States-based Centerbridge Partners, York Capital Management and Abu Dhabi Financial Group, the report added.