A Saudi business group that collapsed under a US$9 billion (Dh33.05bn) tide of debt fell victim to the "brazen" activities of Maan al Sanea, London's High Court heard yesterday.
Mr Justice Flaux was also told Mr al Sanea covered up the group's "increasingly desperate" financial state while simultaneously "bleeding it dry".
Ahmad Hamad Al Gosaibi and Brothers are defending a $220 million lawsuit brought by five banks over claims that for decades it buried the "guilty secret" it was bust until it defaulted on its liabilities in 2009.
The banks' QC, Greg Mitchell, earlier told the court Al Gosaibi's investment division - The Money Exchange - may have been bust for the previous 20 years, but this was hidden - partly through a sense of "shame".
But the al Gosaibi family's QC, Ewan McQuater, yesterday hit back at claims his clients had had any inkling of the financial "catastrophe" building within the group, until it was too late to avert it.
He acknowledged that, as far back as the mid 1990s, senior figures at Al Gosaibi had "significant concerns" about the activities of Mr al Sanea, but there was nothing to indicate The Money Exchange might be on the brink of insolvency.
In fact, he told the court, Mr al Sanea - whom he branded a "master fraudster" - was simply "stringing them along".
Mr al Sanea - the one-time managing director of The Money Exchange - "arranged the forgery" of loan agreements and other documents "as part of a colossal fraud by which he borrowed billions of dollars in the name of [Al Gosaibi] and misappropriated the proceeds for his own benefit", Mr McQuater told Mr Justice Flaux in arguments yesterday.
Mr al Sanea went to "extraordinary lengths" to conceal his activities and the scale of The Money Exchange's debt from Al Gosaibi and from those beyond the "first floor" on The Money Exchange, Mr McQuater added.
He "obsessively concealed" the information flowing to and from the lending banks, the court heard, and acted as the main conduit of information between staff and the partners.
Any information leaks were rapidly plugged by him, said the al Gosaibis' QC, and few of The Money Exchange executives ever had a chance to speak to the partners.
Mr McQuater told the court Mr al Sanea was the "gatekeeper" of all sensitive information and ensured The Money Exchange was an entirely separate entity from the rest of the Al Gosaibi group, with many of its staff being expatriates.
The QC acknowledged it was a "striking feature" of the case that Mr al Sanea carried on his alleged fraud for so long undetected by Al Gosaibi.
"But it is just as striking that it was not detected by any of the 118 banks who between them were advancing billions of dollars of unsecured loans to The Money Exchange and TIBC [The International Banking Corporation] as well as billions more to the Saad Group, much of which has been dissipated or lost by Mr al Sanea and will never be recovered," Mr McQuater said.
But he told the court the "most outrageous" example of the scale and sophistication of his fraud was the use of the TIBC bank, which is based in Bahrain, a subsidiary of The Money Exchange set up by Mr al Sanea and an associate.
The bank operated largely as a charade in which "hundreds of entirely bogus customer files were faked", and there were no customer loans, the QC claimed.
The supposed customers were "either fictitious or knew nothing about the loans in their name", the court heard, and the QC added: "Not only do the machinations of Mr al Sanea go a long way to explaining how his fraud remained undiscovered by Al Gosaibi and the banks. But, in the context of the present cases, they also raise another question: why would the [Al Gosaibi] partners involve themselves in such a complex programme of flagrant dishonesty - including the operation of a fake bank and the concoction of financial statements - for no obvious benefit to themselves and, indeed, incurring considerable financial expense.
"On the evidence before the court there can be no real doubt that: Mr al Sanea borrowed billions from 118 banks in the name of Al Gosaibi; Mr al Sanea applied the [Al Gosaibi] partners' signature on the facility documents in order to obtain the borrowing; Mr al Sanea took the borrowed money for himself, leaving [Al Gosaibi] with the debt, and Mr al Sanea falsified The Money Exchange's financial statements and other records to conceal the extent of the borrowing and what had been done with it.
"The real factual question is whether that was a fraud on[Al Gosaibi], or whether the [Al Gosaibi] partners knew all about what Mr al Sanea was doing and actually authorised it," Mr McQuater told the court.
The hearing continues.
business@thenational.ae
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Leap of Faith
Michael J Mazarr
Public Affairs
Dh67
Fifa Club World Cup quarter-final
Kashima Antlers 3 (Nagaki 49’, Serginho 69’, Abe 84’)
Guadalajara 2 (Zaldivar 03’, Pulido 90')
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
The%20Emperor%20and%20the%20Elephant
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EAuthor%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESam%20Ottewill-Soulsby%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPrinceton%20University%20Press%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EPages%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E392%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EAvailable%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJuly%2011%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
About Proto21
Date started: May 2018
Founder: Pir Arkam
Based: Dubai
Sector: Additive manufacturing (aka, 3D printing)
Staff: 18
Funding: Invested, supported and partnered by Joseph Group
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Switch%20Foods%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202022%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Edward%20Hamod%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Abu%20Dhabi%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Plant-based%20meat%20production%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2034%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%246.5%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%20round%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Seed%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Based%20in%20US%20and%20across%20Middle%20East%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The Details
Kabir Singh
Produced by: Cinestaan Studios, T-Series
Directed by: Sandeep Reddy Vanga
Starring: Shahid Kapoor, Kiara Advani, Suresh Oberoi, Soham Majumdar, Arjun Pahwa
Rating: 2.5/5
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
The biog
Hometown: Cairo
Age: 37
Favourite TV series: The Handmaid’s Tale, Black Mirror
Favourite anime series: Death Note, One Piece and Hellsing
Favourite book: Designing Brand Identity, Fifth Edition
HIV on the rise in the region
A 2019 United Nations special analysis on Aids reveals 37 per cent of new HIV infections in the Mena region are from people injecting drugs.
New HIV infections have also risen by 29 per cent in western Europe and Asia, and by 7 per cent in Latin America, but declined elsewhere.
Egypt has shown the highest increase in recorded cases of HIV since 2010, up by 196 per cent.
Access to HIV testing, treatment and care in the region is well below the global average.
Few statistics have been published on the number of cases in the UAE, although a UNAIDS report said 1.5 per cent of the prison population has the virus.
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Essentials
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct from the UAE to Geneva from Dh2,845 return, including taxes. The flight takes 6 hours.
The package
Clinique La Prairie offers a variety of programmes. A six-night Master Detox costs from 14,900 Swiss francs (Dh57,655), including all food, accommodation and a set schedule of medical consultations and spa treatments.
Price, base / as tested From Dh173,775 (base model)
Engine 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo, AWD
Power 249hp at 5,500rpm
Torque 365Nm at 1,300-4,500rpm
Gearbox Nine-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined 7.9L/100km
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup – Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
The specs: 2018 Mercedes-Benz E 300 Cabriolet
Price, base / as tested: Dh275,250 / Dh328,465
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder
Power: 245hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 370Nm @ 1,300rpm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.0L / 100km
THE%20SPECS
%3Cp%3EEngine%3A%204.4-litre%20twin-turbo%20V8%20hybrid%0D%3Cbr%3EPower%3A%20653hp%20at%205%2C400rpm%0D%3Cbr%3ETorque%3A%20800Nm%20at%201%2C600-5%2C000rpm%0D%3Cbr%3ETransmission%3A%208-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E0-100kph%20in%204.3sec%0D%3Cbr%3ETop%20speed%20250kph%0D%3Cbr%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%20NA%0D%3Cbr%3EOn%20sale%3A%20Q2%202023%0D%3Cbr%3EPrice%3A%20From%20Dh750%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
THE SPECS
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Transmission: six-speed manual
Power: 325bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Speed: 0-100km/h 3.9 seconds
Price: Dh230,000
On sale: now
HOSTS
T20 WORLD CUP
2024: US and West Indies; 2026: India and Sri Lanka; 2028: Australia and New Zealand; 2030: England, Ireland and Scotland
ODI WORLD CUP
2027: South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia; 2031: India and
Bangladesh
CHAMPIONS TROPHY
2025: Pakistan; 2029: India
