A Dubai court has refused an application on behalf of David Haigh to release funds to pay the jailed former Leeds United Football Club boss’ mounting legal costs.
In a ruling by the DIFC Courts, issued on the eve Haigh’s criminal case at the Court of Misdemeanours, Justice Sir David Steel refused the application to release funds covered by the freezing order.
Haigh, the former deputy CEO of Dubai-based investment firm GFH Capital, has been in jailed in the emirate since May last year on charges of misappropriating $5 million of the company’s funds.
As well as the DIFC Court proceedings, which consist of a civil claim and Haigh’s counter-claim against GFH Capital, the Dubai prosecutor has initiated proceedings in Dubai’s criminal court for breach of trust and embezzlement.
The DIFC had previously granted the release of £40,000 ($62,900) and AED38,000 ($10,345) from the frozen funds in respect of future costs of the civil proceedings and criminal proceedings respectively. Justice Steel noted that the figure sought at the time for both was £300,000 ($470,000) out of the total disclosed assets of £1 million ($1.5 million). He said AED35,000 is to be released to cover the cost of a month’s work including the imminent criminal hearing before the prosecutor.
“This is to be compared with the figure sought of AED500,000 ($136,000) for the entire criminal trial,” he said.
With many court battles, Haigh’s previous legal team had threatened to drop him as a client due to $2.4 million in unpaid legal costs. Justice Steele stating in court that it appeared that the previous firm had stopped representing him and the legal advisers now retained by Haigh in the criminal case, International Counsels, had sought AED800,000 $217,000) in total for trial, appeal and cassation phases. The amount was based on a fee of AED3,500 ($950) per hour, which Justice Steel described as being “exorbitant”.
“Messrs Sahar by way of support to International Counsels have invoiced for AED900,000 through the appeal stage (but “only payable once funds received for DIFC Court out of David Haigh Funds”). This makes a total of AED1.75 million (i.e. in excess of GBP 300,000) which is over three times the earlier price. This alone is a massive sum which is disproportionate both as to the services required and the assets that are frozen,” he said in a court statement.
A further application for a stay on the civil proceedings is adjourned until after the criminal court case.
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