David Haigh, the former executive of Bahrain’s GFH Financial Group and a convicted fraudster, has been told he faces jail if he fails to provide details of his finances to a UK court.
The warning follows a ruling by England’s High Court in May that GFH Financial Group can pursue Haigh for $5 million (Dh18.37m) in damages and costs.
The former director of Leeds United Football Club failed to attend the hearing on Friday, instead sending an email to the court claiming he had been unwell.
GFH Financial Group is seeking a disclosure order over Haigh’s assets in its bid to enforce a Dubai court judgment against him.
Lawyers for GFH argued that the threat of a “penal order” was necessary in an effort to make Haigh comply.
Due to Haigh’s failure to appear at the hearing to provide his financial details, Mr Justice Henshaw ordered that he has two weeks in which to do so or face jail.
Haigh claimed that he has been in hospital and in his letter to the court offered to provide evidence on Monday.
However, Mr Justice Henshaw refused to adjourn the hearing, telling the court that Haigh had made similar promises before. The judge said he had reached the conclusion that it was Haigh’s “deliberate choice” not to attend.
Haigh was deputy chief executive of GFH Capital, the investment banking arm of Bahrain’s GFH Financial Group, and led the group’s acquisition of a 24 per cent stake in the English football club Leeds United in 2013.
However, Dubai International Financial Centre Courts found Haigh to be a fraudster after about 100 forged invoices arranged payment into at least four different bank accounts in Dubai, London and Manchester. He has denied the claims and tried to prevent enforcement in the UK, where he has lived since 2016.
In May, Haigh applied for leave to take the matter to trial in the UK but his application was refused.
In the previous hearing, Mr Justice Henshaw had said there was “no realistic prospect of persuading this court at trial that the relevant findings in the DIFC judgment were incorrect in any material respect”.
Profile of Whizkey
Date founded: 04 November 2017
Founders: Abdulaziz AlBlooshi and Harsh Hirani
Based: Dubai, UAE
Number of employees: 10
Sector: AI, software
Cashflow: Dh2.5 Million
Funding stage: Series A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
French business
France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.
What is Reform?
Reform is a right-wing, populist party led by Nigel Farage, a former MEP who won a seat in the House of Commons last year at his eighth attempt and a prominent figure in the campaign for the UK to leave the European Union.
It was founded in 2018 and originally called the Brexit Party.
Many of its members previously belonged to UKIP or the mainstream Conservatives.
After Brexit took place, the party focused on the reformation of British democracy.
Former Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson became its first MP after defecting in March 2024.
The party gained support from Elon Musk, and had hoped the tech billionaire would make a £100m donation. However, Mr Musk changed his mind and called for Mr Farage to step down as leader in a row involving the US tycoon's support for far-right figurehead Tommy Robinson who is in prison for contempt of court.
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