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Thursday, 30 May 2019

Abraaj founder Arif Naqvi freed from prison after paying USD 19 mn conditional bail

Abraaj founder Arif Naqvi freed from prison after paying USD 19 mn conditional bail: Private equity firm Abraaj founder Arif Naqvi was released from prison in the UK on Tuesday evening, after his record GBP 15 mn (USD 19 mn) bail payment was paid, Bloomberg reports. Naqvi will now effectively be under house arrest in his London home, surrendering his travel documents and wearing an electronic tag. Naqvi maintains that he is innocent of charges that include inflating the value of Abraaj’s holdings and stealing hundreds of mns of USD — claims he terms “ludicrous.” Former Abraaj managing partners Sev Vettivetpillai and Mustafa Abdel-Wadood are facing similar charges. Abraaj was widely seen as a standard-bearer for EM private equity before it collapsed last year amid concerns about the misuse of funds.

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