Bankrupt Iraqi developer 'duped' businessmen over prestige UK property projects

A bankrupt Iraqi duped three Kuwaiti investors out of £14 million ($19.8m) over a series of failed prestige housing projects in the UK, a judge has ruled.

Mahmood Al Najar, a former pilot, wooed wealthy businessman with promises of lucrative returns on their investments but left them with nothing after many turned out to be phantom projects.

His scams included the refurbishment and resale of a luxurious house in Bishops Avenue - a London street dubbed ‘Millionaire’s Row’ because of its popularity with the Arab elite. But the businessmen sued after land registry documents showed that he or his companies never owned the house.

Mr Al Najar, 51, was a prominent figure in Milton Keynes, a town about 80 kilometres north-west of London, where he was a senior official at his local mosque and used his reputation to persuade investors to part with their money. The married father-of-three lived in a luxurious riverside gated compound and impressed investors with his apparent financial success.

But the court heard that his apparent property empire was founded on fake documents and lies about ownership rights, and that he had instead siphoned some of the money into his personal accounts.

Declared bankrupt in 2018, he now claims to be back living in his native Iraq, despite suspicions that he is living secretly in Dubai, London’s High Court was told.

He declined to appear at the court in December last year after being sued by the three businessmen who handed over money from 2012 to 2015 for nine different projects. One of the men, Ali Abdulrida, lost more than £10m.

The court was told that Mr Al Najar “denied all of the allegations of wrongdoing which have been made against him”.

But the judge, Mr Justice Morgan, this week ordered some of the building contracts to be revoked and will decide on the damages to be repaid at a later date.

The businessmen are seeking about £16 million but their efforts to claw back their investments have been complicated by the bankruptcy and a series of previous legal claims against Mr Al Najar.

Some of his bank accounts and assets were frozen in 2017 as part of a claim by another investor over the planned refurbishment of the house in Bishops Avenue, north London.

Mr Al Najar, a former commercial pilot who came to the UK from Iraq in 1991, set up property companies under the ‘Prestige’ banner and promoted ambitious housing projects in London and Milton Keynes.

Two investors were persuaded to sink £2.4 million into a project to buy and redevelop the house in Bishops Avenue in 2013. Mr Al Najar claimed he had an agreement to sell the house for about £30 million - triple the purchase price.

But the investors later discovered that Mr Al Najar and his associated companies had never owned the building. Ownership documents showed the home was last sold in 2017 for just £5.75 million.

Other planned projects included the demolition of a building in the upmarket London district of Marylebone to be replaced by a block for 14 flats. The judge found that he forged documents and dismissed claims that he had struck a deal with a man known only as “Andy” to buy and develop the site.

Mr Al Najar also promoted a project to build 147 houses in Milton Keynes that would be marketed in the UK and the Middle East. Lawyers for the three men claimed the project was a “sham” from the outset and there was never any intention of carrying out the project.

“Between 2012 and 2015, the three Kuwaiti investors invested some £14 million with Mr Al Najar and with companies controlled by him,” said Mr Justice Morgan in a ruling this week.

"The investors have not seen any return on their investments and they have not been repaid the money they invested.”

Mr Ahmad Al Habib, one of the businessmen, said: “The claimants are grateful that Mr Al Najar has been held responsible for his fraudulent actions. We are now looking into options to bring criminal proceedings both in the UK and abroad.”

Mr Al Najar, who was not represented in court, could not be immediately contacted for comment.