A Cayman court has ordered a worldwide freezing order on the assets of billionaire Maan Al-Sanea be lifted, as it assesses new evidence in the Saudi businessman’s multi-billion dollar legal battle with his in-laws, the Algosaibi family.
The rift in the clan, which has left some of the world’s biggest banks nursing billions of dollars of losses, started in 2009 when the Algosaibi financial empire collapsed in the wake of the credit crisis.
The Algosaibi family’s Ahmad Hamad Algosaibi & Brothers partnership denied liability for ensuing claims from creditors, blaming Al-Sanea – who is married to Sana Algosaibi, herself an AHAB partner – of setting up a giant scam to defraud them.
The AHAB partnership has decided against a new attempt to freeze Al-Sanea’s assets after losing a London court case against five creditor banks in June, admitting liability for the lenders’ claims.
“A wrongful $9.2bn freezing order against me has today been lifted, with the courts recognising that it should never have been imposed in the first place,” Al-Sanea said in an emailed statement.
“Since AHAB started its litigation scheme over two years ago, I have been resolute in my complete rejection of its desperate claims that I somehow defrauded the Algosaibis.”
It was the first time the billionaire – once owner of a 3 percent stake in HSBC – made a substantial public statement since the start of the process.
The Algosaibis lost their fight in June against claims from five banks after new documents showed they knew more about Al-Sanea’s activities than they had hitherto said.
The Algosaibis are suing Al-Sanea in the Cayman Islands, where he based many of his companies, for fraud and misappropriating money, but the case has been mired in discussions over jurisdiction.
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