Company Insights The Abraaj Group The Abraaj Group Overview Arif Naqvi founded The Abraaj Group in 2002 with $3 million in capital and headquarters in Dubai. The group grew into a large association of private equity and other private investment funds, with more than $13 billion in assets under management. In 2018 Abraaj was the largest private equity firm in the Middle East when it emerged that several limited partners, including the Gates Foundation, were investigating its misuse of investor funds. An auditor was appointed to trace the money. Abraaj’s debts stood at $1.1 billion, including $501.4 million to unsecured creditors and $572.4 million to secured creditors. Naqvi resigned from the firm. He was arrested in London in April 2019 and has been fighting extradition to the US. He has also been sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission and fined by Dubai’s financial regulator. He has denied any wrongdoing. The company’s various funds were sold to other private equity firms. Actis Capital took over the private equity businesses in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. TPG Capital’s Rise Fund took over the firm’s healthcare business and Colony Capital bought Abraaj’s Latin America business. The Abraaj Group News Opinion Construction Dubai has no plans to give up its crown. Now DIFC 2.0 is coming The masterplan for the next two decades of Dubai International Financial Centre is being implemented December 16, 2024 Opinion People & Lifestyle Fun of the Fair – the wacky world of Art Dubai The annual culture blast is a good barometer of the emirate's economic fortunes March 1, 2024 Opinion Markets Frogs, dogs and elephants – the zoology of business talk Sometimes only an animal analogy will do to describe complex corporate concepts January 19, 2024 Exclusive Banking & Finance $250m Aliph Fund expects closure on GCC deals Aliph, a private equity fund that attracted $125 million from an Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund last year, is aiming to close up to three investments in GCC states UAE and Saudi Arabia by the end of 2023. The Aliph Fund, set up by Aliph Capital and one of the few female-led private equity companies […] October 2, 2023 Construction Dubai’s DSI launches court case against PwC Dubai construction contractor Drake & Scull International has registered a lawsuit against global consultancy giants PwC in Dubai Courts over a AED5.5 billion ($1.49 billion) black hole in the company’s accounts. The case revolves around the six-year period between 2011 and 2017 when PwC were auditors for DSI and were also in charge of preparing […] May 5, 2023 Banking & Finance KPMG said to be fined $231m for Abraaj fund audit work KPMG Lower Gulf has been ordered by a Dubai court to pay $231 million to an investor group that claimed it lost money as a result of the audit work the firm did on a fund operated by Abraaj Group, according to a media report. The court judgement, issued late month, found that the audit […] April 16, 2023 Banking & Finance GCC private equity sector held back by lack of competition The GCC private equity industry is failing to reach its potential because of a lack of competition and a scarcity of local investment banks to help in dealmaking, according to Karim El Solh, chief executive of investment firm Gulf Capital. He believes a more mature investment banking industry would bring more players into private equity […] March 10, 2023 Banking & Finance Abraaj Capital founder loses extradition appeal to the US Arif Naqvi, the founder of what was once the largest private equity firm in the Middle East, has lost a bid to challenge his extradition from London to the US to face fraud charges. US prosecutors allege that the Pakistan-born businessman defrauded investors, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, by concealing a liquidity crisis […] March 9, 2023 Posts navigation
Opinion Construction Dubai has no plans to give up its crown. Now DIFC 2.0 is coming The masterplan for the next two decades of Dubai International Financial Centre is being implemented December 16, 2024
Opinion People & Lifestyle Fun of the Fair – the wacky world of Art Dubai The annual culture blast is a good barometer of the emirate's economic fortunes March 1, 2024
Opinion Markets Frogs, dogs and elephants – the zoology of business talk Sometimes only an animal analogy will do to describe complex corporate concepts January 19, 2024
Exclusive Banking & Finance $250m Aliph Fund expects closure on GCC deals Aliph, a private equity fund that attracted $125 million from an Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund last year, is aiming to close up to three investments in GCC states UAE and Saudi Arabia by the end of 2023. The Aliph Fund, set up by Aliph Capital and one of the few female-led private equity companies […] October 2, 2023
Construction Dubai’s DSI launches court case against PwC Dubai construction contractor Drake & Scull International has registered a lawsuit against global consultancy giants PwC in Dubai Courts over a AED5.5 billion ($1.49 billion) black hole in the company’s accounts. The case revolves around the six-year period between 2011 and 2017 when PwC were auditors for DSI and were also in charge of preparing […] May 5, 2023
Banking & Finance KPMG said to be fined $231m for Abraaj fund audit work KPMG Lower Gulf has been ordered by a Dubai court to pay $231 million to an investor group that claimed it lost money as a result of the audit work the firm did on a fund operated by Abraaj Group, according to a media report. The court judgement, issued late month, found that the audit […] April 16, 2023
Banking & Finance GCC private equity sector held back by lack of competition The GCC private equity industry is failing to reach its potential because of a lack of competition and a scarcity of local investment banks to help in dealmaking, according to Karim El Solh, chief executive of investment firm Gulf Capital. He believes a more mature investment banking industry would bring more players into private equity […] March 10, 2023
Banking & Finance Abraaj Capital founder loses extradition appeal to the US Arif Naqvi, the founder of what was once the largest private equity firm in the Middle East, has lost a bid to challenge his extradition from London to the US to face fraud charges. US prosecutors allege that the Pakistan-born businessman defrauded investors, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, by concealing a liquidity crisis […] March 9, 2023
