Hacking Victim Granted £21m Worldwide Freezing Order Against the UAE Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah Sovereign Wealth Fund
June 26 2024 - 1:56PM
Burlingtons Legal LLP, on behalf of its client, Farhad
Azima, an aviation executive and citizen of the United States of
America, has succeeded in securing a global freezing order
against
Ras Al Khaimah sovereign wealth fund,
RAKIA, in the English High Court. On 25 June 2024 the High
Court in London granted American aviation businessman, Farhad
Azima, the continuation of a worldwide freezing order against
Ras Al Khaimah Investment Authority (“RAKIA”) who are the sovereign
wealth fund of Ras Al Khaimah, an Emirate of the UAE.
Mr Azima alleged in court that he was hacked by RAKIA and their
solicitors Dechert LLP, the international law firm. Dechert
recently settled with Mr Azima and agreed to pay him multimillion
pound damages, but Mr Azima has had to pursue worldwide enforcement
proceedings against the sovereign wealth fund in an attempt to
recover approximately £21m owed in unsatisfied High Court
judgments.
Mr Justice Michael Green, sitting in private, granted the
initial worldwide freezing injunction against RAKIA, commenting
that the fund had “behaved dishonestly and fraudulently, obtaining
judgments from this court by fraud and mounting a full scale
operation to hack Mr Azima's private and confidential
information.”
Mr Justice Michael Green also observed that RAKIA’s “behaviour
throughout the case has been shown to be dishonest and since it has
backed out of the proceedings it has failed to pay any of the
orders made against it, despite it saying that it will ensure that
any judgments entered against it are satisfied.”
RAKIA’s non-compliance with numerous English Court orders comes
at a time when Ras Al Khaimah continues to promote itself as a safe
destination for tourists and for international investment, with
tours of France and Italy, as well as the promotion of Wynn
Resorts’ Wynn Al Marjan Island project in Ras Al Khaimah.
Mr Azima’s application for a freezing order arises from recent
asset dissipation, including the purported sale on 30 May 2024 of
the Marriott Sheraton Grand Tbilisi Metechi Palace Hotel in
Tbilisi, Georgia, which for over 15 years was owned by Ras Al
Khaimah Georgia LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of RAKIA.
But recently the hotel was apparently sold for approximately $45
million to Tbilisi Hotel Holdings LLC – a newly incorporated
company that has the “same directors as RAKIA Georgia, [and]
appears to be owned by a Ras Al Khaimah entity”. The transfer
document was “signed by the same person on behalf of both the
purchaser and the seller”.
The Court has been supportive of Mr Azima’s attempts to prevent
further dissipation of assets by RAKIA, noting that it “appears
that RAKIA is taking steps to make itself judgment-proof.” The
global freezing order granted by Mr Justice Michael Green was today
extended indefinitely (or until the £21m owed to Mr Azima is
satisfied), requiring RAKIA not to remove, dispose of, deal with,
or diminish the value of any assets in England and Wales, or
outside it, up to the value of £21m.
Going beyond the scope of typical freezing orders, the Order
granted to Mr Azima further restricts corporate bodies directly or
indirectly owned or controlled by RAKIA from disposing of, dealing
with, or diminishing the value of any of their respective assets,
whether in or outside England and Wales, up to the same value,
therefore catching any subsidiaries who may attempt to avoid
enforcement action by dissipating assets. RAKIA was also required
to provide to Mr Azima a list of all its assets worldwide exceeding
£50,000 in value, whether held in its own name or not.
If RAKIA or their officers, Naser Thafer Husni Al Bustami and
Mohamad Sultan Al Qadi, disobey this Order, then they may be held
in contempt of court, fined, have their assets seized or, for the
officers, imprisoned. This also applies to anyone in the UK who
knowingly assists in or permits a breach of this Order.
Dr Al Bustami is the current CEO of the RAK-owned quarrying
company, Stevin Rock and a director of RAK Development LLC. He also
sits on the board of a number of other companies that are
ultimately owned by the Government of RAK.
Mr Al Qadi is currently a board member of the Investment &
Development Office of RAK and was previously the CEO of RAK
Properties. He was also the Chairman of the Founding Committees of
RAK Petroleum and RAK Properties, and served as Chairman of
Commercial Bank International and Emirates Post Group.
Dr Al Bustami and Mr Al Qadi signed the 22 June 2022 letter on
behalf of RAKIA to the Court noting RAKIA’s withdrawal from the
Azima proceedings and its apparently hollow promise to satisfy any
judgment against it. Dr Al Bustami also gave evidence in the first
trial for RAKIA, denying any knowledge of the hacking of Mr
Azima.
Farhad Azima has put the owners and Marriott Hotels on notice
not to abet asset dissipation on the part of Ras Al Khaimah.
Source: Burlingtons Legal LLP
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/9dbf6801-3a30-42d5-a3ff-98d1746d7b5a
Contact:
hadi@maltinpr.com