Abraaj founder settles $300m bounced check case

Abraaj founder settles $300m bounced check case:

Arif Naqvi, the founder and chief executive of the embattled Abraaj Group, has avoided a three-year prison sentence in the UAE with a last-minute deal struck with Hamid Jafar, the Sharjah based businessman, over $300 million of checks written by Naqvi and a lieutenant that were dishonored on presentation.

Lawyers for Naqvi and Jafar issued statements yesterday that halted proceedings over the bounced checks — a criminal offense in the UAE — after talks in London agreed the transfer of certain assets from Naqvi to Jafar as part-payment of the debts, and an agreement to potentially pay more on the disposal of Abraaj assets.

Habib Al-Mulla, Naqvi’s lawyer and executive chairman of the law firm Baker & McKenzie Habib Al Mulla, said: “I am pleased to inform you that the parties have reached a full settlement on all disputes with Jafar. Under UAE criminal law, charges based on bounced checks get extinguished once parties reach a settlement. Accordingly, the parties will apply to the court and the public prosecution to withdraw the cases brought on the bounced checks.