Air Arabia (G9, Sharjah) has filed a lawsuit in the Sharjah court against Arif Naqvi, the founder of Abraaj Group investment funds, alleging misdemeanour, The National has reported.
"Even though this issue has no significant impact on the carrier’s business or on its operations, Air Arabia remains fully committed to protect its investment and business interest," the LCC said in a statement.
The carrier had USD336 million in exposure to Abraaj when the fund filed for a court-supervised restructuring in June 2018. The crisis started after four investors in Abraaj's healthcare division, who together had USD1 billion in exposure, alleged mismanagement and hired own investigators to audit the fund.
Air Arabia was one of the largest investors in Abraaj. At its peak, the fund was managing nearly USD14 billion worth of assets globally.
The lawyer for Naqvi said that the lawsuit was surprising given the ongoing negotiations towards a settlement with Air Arabia.
"This is obviously an attempt to exercise pressure in order to achieve gains that [the airline] is not entitled to under the provisional liquidation proceedings or the international arbitration," lawyer Habib Al Mulla told Arabian Business.
