Skip to main content
MENU
Subscribe
  • Subscribe
  • Account
  • LOGIN
  • Topics
    • Alternatives
    • Consultants
    • Coronavirus
    • Courts
    • Defined Contribution
    • ESG
    • ETFs
    • Hedge Funds
    • Industry Voices
    • Investing
    • Money Management
    • Opinion
    • Partner Content
    • Pension Funds
    • Private Equity
    • Real Estate
    • Russia-Ukraine War
    • SECURE Act 2.0
    • Special Reports
    • White Papers
  • Rankings & Awards
    • 1,000 Largest Retirement Plans
    • Top-Performing Managers
    • Largest Money Managers
    • DC Money Managers
    • DC Record Keepers
    • Largest Hedge Fund Managers
    • World's Largest Retirement Funds
    • Best Places to Work in Money Management
    • Excellence & Innovation Awards
    • WPS Innovation Awards
    • Eddy Awards
  • ETFs
    • Latest ETF News
    • Fund Screener
    • Education Center
    • Equities
    • Fixed Income
    • Commodities
    • Actively Managed
    • Alternatives
    • ESG Rated
  • ESG
    • Latest ESG News
    • The Institutional Investor’s Guide to ESG Investing
    • ESG Sustainability - Gaining Momentum
    • Climate Change: The Inescapable Opportunity
    • Impact Investing
    • 2022 ESG Investing Conference
    • ESG Rated ETFs
  • Defined Contribution
    • Latest DC News
    • DC Money Manager Rankings
    • DC Record Keeper Rankings
    • Innovations in DC
    • Trends in DC: Focus on Retirement Income
    • 2022 Defined Contribution East Conference
    • 2022 DC Investment Lineup Conference
  • Searches & Hires
    • Latest Searches & Hires News
    • Searches & Hires Database
    • RFPs
  • Performance Data
    • P&I Research Center
    • Earnings Tracker
    • Endowment Returns Tracker
    • Corporate Pension Contribution Tracker
    • Pension Fund Returns Tracker
    • Pension Risk Transfer Database
    • Future of Investments Research Series
    • Charts & Infographics
    • Polls
  • Careers
  • Events
    • View All Conferences
    • View All Webinars
    • 2022 Retirement Income Conference
    • 2022 Managing Pension Risk & Liabilities
    • 2022 WorldPensionSummit
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. COURTS
July 14, 2021 01:19 PM

Dubai regulator hits ex-Abraaj finance chief with record fine

Bloomberg
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    A woman counts 500 Riyal banknotes in Saudi Arabia
    Bloomberg

    The former finance chief of the now-defunct Abraaj Group said he was aware of the fraud that led to the private equity firm's 2019 collapse but was too afraid to speak out, according to the Dubai financial regulator.

    Ashish Dave was handed a $1.7 million fine by the Dubai Financial Services Authority on Wednesday for his involvement in the scandal, the largest-ever penalty imposed on any individual in the emirate's financial center. Abraaj, which was headed by financier Arif Naqvi, went into liquidation following a process that began when investors, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, ordered a probe into the use of money from Abraaj's health-care fund.

    Mr. Dave said he was "aware of the deception that was being carried out but was not in a position to stop it," according to the regulator's 96-page decision notice published alongside the fine. He feared he "would have been the only person, along with my family," that would suffer as a result, it said.

    The fine was imposed for Mr. Dave's "involvement in deception, unauthorized activity and compliance breaches," according to the notice. His attempts to mislead investors contributed to the collapse of the region's largest private equity firm and "undermined the confidence of investors in the DIFC and damaged the reputation and integrity of the DIFC," it said.

    Mr. Dave didn't respond to calls Wednesday to his cellphone requesting comment.

    The fine is the latest move by the Dubai Financial Services Authority over the Abraaj affair and the people behind a fraud that rattled reputations in the DIFC, the city's financial free-zone, one of the Middle East's biggest business hubs. Abraaj at one time managed as much as $14 billion.

    According to Wednesday's decision notice, Mr. Dave said he attended a meeting in mid-2017 with a senior official at the firm who told him $425 million of investors' money had been taken out of two funds without their knowledge. He said he immediately asked himself, "What the hell have I gotten myself into?"

    Mr. Dave was also banned from working in or from Dubai's financial center, the regulator said Wednesday.

    Mr. Naqvi faces criminal charges in the U.S. and is currently in the U.K. awaiting extradition. The Dubai regulator imposed a record $315 million fine on Abraaj in 2019.

    Mr. Dave worked at Abraaj as chief financial officer from September 2008 to September 2013 and then again from February 2017 to March 2018. Between 2013 and 2017 he was partner at accounting firm KPMG, which was also auditor of Abraaj.

    Mr. Dave asked for a waiver of the fine, saying he was unable to pay it. The regulator rejected the appeal on the grounds that "it would send entirely the wrong signal to the market and to those who might be tempted to infringe the rules, the object of which is to protect investors."

    Related Articles
    Collapsed Abraaj fined record $315 million by Dubai watchdog
    Abraaj executive pleads guilty
    Abraaj founder Naqvi released from jail on $19 million bail
    Recommended for You
    courtroom gavel books 1550_i.jpg
    Dover Corp. 401(k) participant sues over high fees
    ONLINE_180129892_AR_0_FNHJHXWWOVFK.jpg
    Aspirus to pay $1.5 million to settle ERISA case
    Labor Department exterior-main_i.jpg
    Appeals court rules Alight needs to turn over documents in DOL cybersecurity case

    Reader Poll

    August 10, 2022
    SEE MORE POLLS >
    Sponsored
    White Papers
    Gaining Momentum: Where Next for Trend-Following?
    How Has 2022's Carnage Reshaped Global Stock and Bond Markets?
    Can Sustainable Labeling of Financial Products Prevent Greenwashing?
    Hedge Funds 2.0: Back to the future
    Is there a mid-cap gap in your DC plan?
    Why pursue direct lending in the core middle market?
    View More
    Sponsored Content
    Partner Content
    The Industrialization of ESG Investment
    For institutional investors, ETFs can make meeting liquidity needs easier
    Gold: the most effective commodity investment
    2021 Investment Outlook | Investing Beyond the Pandemic: A Reset for Portfolios
    Ten ways retirement plan professionals add value to plan sponsors
    Gold: an efficient hedge
    View More
    E-MAIL NEWSLETTERS

    Sign up and get the best of News delivered straight to your email inbox, free of charge. Choose your news – we will deliver.

    Subscribe Today
    August 1, 2022 page one

    Get access to the news, research and analysis of events affecting the retirement and institutional money management businesses from a worldwide network of reporters and editors.

    Subscribe
    Connect With Us
    • RSS
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn

    Our Mission

    To consistently deliver news, research and analysis to the executives who manage the flow of funds in the institutional investment market.

    About Us

    Main Office
    685 Third Avenue
    Tenth Floor
    New York, NY 10017-4036

    Chicago Office
    130 E. Randolph St.
    Suite 3200
    Chicago, IL 60601

    Contact Us

    Careers at Crain

    About Pensions & Investments

     

    Advertising
    • Media Kit
    • P&I Content Solutions
    • P&I Careers | Post a Job
    • Reprints & Permissions
    Resources
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • FAQ
    • P&I Research Center
    • Site map
    • Staff Directory
    Legal
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Request
    Pensions & Investments
    Copyright © 1996-2022. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • Topics
      • Alternatives
      • Consultants
      • Coronavirus
      • Courts
      • Defined Contribution
      • ESG
      • ETFs
      • Hedge Funds
      • Industry Voices
      • Investing
      • Money Management
      • Opinion
      • Partner Content
      • Pension Funds
      • Private Equity
      • Real Estate
      • Russia-Ukraine War
      • SECURE Act 2.0
      • Special Reports
      • White Papers
    • Rankings & Awards
      • 1,000 Largest Retirement Plans
      • Top-Performing Managers
      • Largest Money Managers
      • DC Money Managers
      • DC Record Keepers
      • Largest Hedge Fund Managers
      • World's Largest Retirement Funds
      • Best Places to Work in Money Management
      • Excellence & Innovation Awards
      • WPS Innovation Awards
      • Eddy Awards
    • ETFs
      • Latest ETF News
      • Fund Screener
      • Education Center
      • Equities
      • Fixed Income
      • Commodities
      • Actively Managed
      • Alternatives
      • ESG Rated
    • ESG
      • Latest ESG News
      • The Institutional Investor’s Guide to ESG Investing
      • ESG Sustainability - Gaining Momentum
      • Climate Change: The Inescapable Opportunity
      • Impact Investing
      • 2022 ESG Investing Conference
      • ESG Rated ETFs
    • Defined Contribution
      • Latest DC News
      • DC Money Manager Rankings
      • DC Record Keeper Rankings
      • Innovations in DC
      • Trends in DC: Focus on Retirement Income
      • 2022 Defined Contribution East Conference
      • 2022 DC Investment Lineup Conference
    • Searches & Hires
      • Latest Searches & Hires News
      • Searches & Hires Database
      • RFPs
    • Performance Data
      • P&I Research Center
      • Earnings Tracker
      • Endowment Returns Tracker
      • Corporate Pension Contribution Tracker
      • Pension Fund Returns Tracker
      • Pension Risk Transfer Database
      • Future of Investments Research Series
      • Charts & Infographics
      • Polls
    • Careers
    • Events
      • View All Conferences
      • View All Webinars
      • 2022 Retirement Income Conference
      • 2022 Managing Pension Risk & Liabilities
      • 2022 WorldPensionSummit