Arif Masood Naqvi (born 13 July 1960 in

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

, Pakistan) is a Pakistani businessman, who was the founder and chief executive of the Dubai-based private equity firm,

The Abraaj Group The Abraaj Group was a private equity firm operating in six continents that is currently in liquidation due to accusations of fraud. The firm was founded by Pakistani businessman Arif Naqvi and was based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. History ...

and Aman Foundation. The Abraaj Group was founded in 2002 and operated in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Middle East, Turkey and Central Asia, and is currently in liquidation due to accusations of fraud.

Early life and education

Naqvi was born in a business family. His father was a small plastics manufacturing company owner. He completed his early education from

Karachi Grammar School Karachi Grammar School ( ur, ) is an independent, English-medium school located in 3 different campuses across Karachi. The main and oldest campus is located in Saddar, Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. It is a highly selective, coeducational day school ...

and graduated from

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

Career

Arif Naqvi began his career with

Arthur Andersen Arthur Andersen was an American accounting firm based in Chicago that provided auditing, tax advising, consulting and other professional services to large corporations. By 2001, it had become one of the world's largest multinational corporat ...

in London and

American Express American Express Company (Amex) is an American multinational corporation specialized in payment card services headquartered at 200 Vesey Street in the Battery Park City neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City. The company was found ...

in Karachi. In the early 1990s, he joined the

Olayan Group The Olayan Group is a multinational enterprise established in 1947 by Suliman S. Olayan (5 November 1918 - 4 July 2002), with an actively managed portfolio of global investments. The group's primary parent company, Olayan Investments Company Es ...

in Saudi Arabia, the Kingdom's largest trading company. In 1994 he started an investment firm in Dubai called Cupola with $50,000 of his own savings. In 1999, Naqvi purchased Inchcape Middle East, for $102 million, with $4.1 million in equity, making it the

MENA MENA, an acronym in the English language, refers to a grouping of countries situated in and around the Middle East and North Africa. It is also known as WANA, SWANA, or NAWA, which alternatively refers to the Middle East as Western Asia (or a ...

region's first leveraged buyout. Naqvi then sold off pieces of the company for a total of $173 million. In 2002, Naqvi founded Abraaj Capital, and in 2012 the company merged with Aureos Capital to become

. As of March 2018, Arif Naqvi has stepped down as CEO of The Abraaj Group, as the company has become the subject of multiple investigations regarding its fund management practices. Naqvi is known as a collector of art and for establishing a collection of Middle Eastern art. In 2018, art owned by Naqvi was sold through Christie's for £2 million.

Allegations, criminal charges and legal issues

In September 2017, "while Arif was in New York, the employee broke ranks and sent an anonymous email to investors"…"about years of wrongdoing at Abraaj". In January 2018, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and three other investors in Naqvi's ''Abraaj Growth Markets Health Fund'' recruited forensic accountants to investigate where their money had gone. In February 2018,

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

and the

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), a merging of the William H. Gates Foundation and the Gates Learning Foundation, is an American private foundation founded by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates. Based in Seattle, Washington, it was ...

wanted to know why over $200 million in cash was sitting with the fund, and not invested. In February 2018, Naqvi was accused by Andrew Farnum at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and other investors of misappropriating funds, leading to the

provisional liquidation Provisional liquidation is a process which exists as part of the corporate insolvency laws of a number of common law jurisdictions whereby after the lodging of a petition for the winding-up of a company by the court, but before the court hears and ...

of The Abraaj Group. The company also came under investigation by regulators in

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

. Also in October 2018, the ''

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'' published an article that Abraaj Group allegedly paid US$20 million to Pakistani businessman, Navaid Malik, for his assistance in securing cooperation of the Sharif brothers for the sale of its investment in Pakistan's utility, Karachi Electric. On 5 April 2019, Naqvi was arrested by authorities in the United Kingdom after he was charged by the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...

with fraud, misleading investors and misappropriating $230 million from ''Abraaj Growth Markets Health Fund''. In early May 2019, Naqvi was granted

bail Bail is a set of pre-trial restrictions that are imposed on a suspect to ensure that they will not hamper the judicial process. Bail is the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when required. In some countries ...

by a London court pending a hearing for his extradition to the United States, with restrictions including a record £15 million GBP (US$20 million) surety and other conditions amounting to effective

house arrest In justice and law, house arrest (also called home confinement, home detention, or, in modern times, electronic monitoring) is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to their residence. Travel is usually restricted, if all ...

. In July 2019, two Abraaj entities were fined US$315 million by the

Dubai Financial Services Authority The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) is the financial regulatory agency of the special economic zone, the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), In Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is distinct from the UAE's federal Securities and Co ...

and Naqvi was sentenced to three years imprisonment in absentia in the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

on charges of financial fraud. In November 2021, High Court Judge

Philippa Whipple Dame Philippa Jane Edwards Whipple, (born 7 May 1966) is a British judge, former barrister, and former solicitor. Between October 2015 and November 2021, she was a High Court judge (England and Wales), Justice of the High Court assigned to the Q ...

adjourned the matter Naqvi extradition until a point of law was resolved in another similar high-profile extradition case - that of

Nirav Modi Nirav Deepak Modi (born 27 February 1971) is a Belgian businessman and fugitive who was charged by Interpol and the Government of India for criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, cheating and dishonesty including delivery of property, ...

, an Indian diamond tycoon. In December 2022, the 'point of law' appeal, was denied and the High Court also refused permission for Modi, to appeal to the

Supreme Court of the United Kingdom The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (initialism: UKSC or the acronym: SCOTUK) is the final court of appeal in the United Kingdom for all civil cases, and for criminal cases originating in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. As the Unite ...

and he was ordered to pay associated legal costs of £150,247, for the application. In January 2022, the

personally fined Naqvi $135.6 million for his role in the collapse of Abraaj. In July 2022, the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

'' revealed in its article results of its investigation that Abraaj founder Arif Naqvi's

Cayman Islands The Cayman Islands () is a self-governing British Overseas Territory—the largest by population in the western Caribbean Sea. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, which are located to the ...

-incorporated company Wootton Cricket Ltd bankrolled Pakistan's political party,

Tehreek-e-Insaf The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI; ur, , ) is a political party in Pakistan. It was founded in 1996 by Pakistani cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, who served as the country's prime minister from 2018 to 2022. The PTI is one of the thre ...

(PTI) which is led by former Prime Minister

Imran Khan Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi ( ur}; born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician and former Cricket captain who served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan from August 2018 to until April 2022, when he was ousted through a no-confidenc ...

during 2013, after receiving funds from companies and individuals including at least £2 million in April 2013 from Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak al-Nahyan, a

government minister who is also a member of the

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area. ...

royal family and Chairman of Pakistan's

Bank Alfalah Bank Alfalah Limited, formerly Habib Credit and Exchange Bank, () is a Pakistani retail bank which is a subsidiary of the Emirati company Abu Dhabi United Group. It is one of the largest private Banks in Pakistan with a network of more than 850 b ...

. Naqvi was under UK house arrest and was electronically tagged while on £15 million bail as he fought extradition from the UK to the US. On 8 March 2023, Naqvi lost his challenge to extradition from London to the United States, as a UK High Court Judge refused Naqvi permission to bring a judicial review against the 2021 approval of his extradition to the United States. This means that the extradition order authorized by the then UK Home Secretary

Priti Patel Priti Sushil Patel (born 29 March 1972) is a British politician who served as Home Secretary from 2019 to 2022. A member of the Conservative Party, she was Secretary of State for International Development from 2016 to 2017. Patel has been the Me ...

will be executed, and Naqvi will be sent to a US prison to undergo his trial on fraud allegations by US authorities.

Philanthropy

In 2008, Naqvi and his family established the Aman Foundation, a local, not-for-profit trust in Pakistan, focusing on health, nutrition and education.

Awards

In 2007, Naqvi was granted the

Sitara-i-Imtiaz The Sitara-e-Imtiaz () also spelled as Sitara-i-Imtiaz, is the third-highest (in the order of "Imtiaz") honour and civilian award in the State of Pakistan. It recognizes individuals who have made an "especially meritorious contribution to the ...

by the

Government of Pakistan The Government of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=hakúmat-e pákistán) abbreviated as GoP, is a federal government established by the Constitution of Pakistan as a constituted governing authority of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provin ...

, in recognition of his outstanding service in the field of public services. In 2015, Naqvi was awarded with the BNP Paribas Grand Prix for Individual Philanthropy by

BNP Paribas BNP Paribas is a French international banking group, founded in 2000 from the merger between Banque Nationale de Paris (BNP, "National Bank of Paris") and Paribas, formerly known as the Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas. The full name of the grou ...

. Naqvi is a founding commissioner of the Business & Sustainable Development Commission (BSDC), alongside

Paul Polman Paulus Gerardus Josephus Maria Polman, (born 11 July 1956) is a Dutch businessman and author. He was the chief executive officer (CEO) of the British consumer goods company Unilever. Polman is also the author of ''Net Positive: How Courageous Co ...

and

Mo Ibrahim Mohammed "Mo" Ibrahim ( ar, محمد إبراهيم; born 3 May 1946) is a Sudanese-British billionaire businessman. He worked for several telecommunications companies, before founding Celtel, which when sold had over 24 million mobile phone s ...

References

Sources

* Simon Clark and Will Louch, ''The Key Man: The True Story of How the Global Elite Was Duped by a Capitalist Fairy'', Harper Business (2021) - The story of Pakistani ex-CEO, Arif Naqvi * Brian Brivati, ''Icarus: The Life and Death of the Abraaj Group'', Biteback Publishing (2021), *

External links

Arif Naqvi Archives
- Pakistan Shia News Agency {{DEFAULTSORT:Naqvi, Arif Living people 1960 births Pakistani philanthropists Pakistani chief executives Pakistani expatriates in the United Arab Emirates Private equity and venture capital investors Alumni of the London School of Economics Businesspeople from Karachi Karachi Grammar School alumni Recipients of Sitara-i-Imtiaz Pakistani fraudsters 21st-century philanthropists Saint Kitts and Nevis people of Pakistani descent Pakistani white-collar criminals People with acquired Saint Kitts and Nevis citizenship Prisoners and detainees of the United Arab Emirates Prisoners and detainees of the United Kingdom Saint Kitts and Nevis businesspeople Pakistani art collectors