The Abraaj Group
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The Abraaj Group was a
private equity In the field of finance, the term private equity (PE) refers to investment funds, usually limited partnerships (LP), which buy and restructure financially weak companies that produce goods and provide services. A private-equity fund is both a ty ...
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 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 ...
,
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 ...
.


History

The Abraaj Group was founded in 2002 by Pakistani businessman Arif Naqvi with US$3 million in capital. In April 2015, the firm closed a US$990 million
Sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...
fund, its third in the region according to the company. Combined with US$375 million raised in August 2015 for a fund to focus on North Africa, the two funds give Abraaj just under US$1.4 billion to invest in Africa, a record sum raised in a single year. In July 2016, the firm announced that it raised $526 million for investments in
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
through Abraaj Turkey Fund I. Abraaj also launched its $1 billion Abraaj Growth Markets Health Fund (AGHF) to build affordable and accessible health eco-systems for middle and low-income communities in Sub Saharan Africa and South Asia. In 2018 the firm was hit by turmoil, as it was revealed that several limited partners including the Gates Foundation were investigating its misuse of investor funds and appointed an auditor to trace the money. This led to the departure of the CFO as well as the CEO to handover his role at the fund business. Abraaj was hit by a $188 million loss for the nine months until the end of March with Abraaj’s debts standing at $1.1 billion, including $501.4 million to unsecured creditors and $572.4 million to secured creditors. In April 2019, a third director, Sev Vettivetpillai, was arrested. Eventually, Abraaj's various funds were sold to other private equity firms.
Colony Capital DigitalBridge Group, Inc. is a global digital infrastructure investment firm. The company owns, invests in and operates businesses such as cell towers, data centers, fiber, small cells, and edge infrastructure. Headquartered in Boca Raton, Digita ...
took over Abraaj's Latin America business.
Actis Capital Actis is a global investment firm focused on the private equity, energy, infrastructure, and real estate asset classes. Actis is a signatory to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI), an investor initiative developed b ...
took over the private equity businesses in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, and
TPG Capital TPG Inc., previously known as Texas Pacific Group and TPG Capital, is an American investment company based in Fort Worth, Texas. The private equity firm is focused on leveraged buyouts and growth capital. TPG manages investment funds in growth c ...
's Rise Fund took over the firm's healthcare business.


Business segments

Prior to its liquidation, the Abraaj Group invested in private equity, private credit, impact investing and real estate.


Private equity

The Abraaj Group was an investor in global growth markets and had made more than 200 investments across a range of sectors. These businesses included: * Acurio, a
Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...
vian restaurant group *
Hepsiburada Hepsiburada.com, a Turkish e-commerce company that has been serving since 1998. The company was selected as Turkey's most popular brand in 2011, 2012 and 2013, and E-commerce Site of the Year in 2013. By the first quarter of 2022, it had over 12 ...
, the largest e-commerce player in Turkey * Java House Group, East Africa's largest casual dining chain * Netlog, largest integrated logistics firm in Turkey * Indorama Fertilizers, fertilizer manufacturer in Sub-Saharan Africa * VUS, an education leader in
Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
* Big Basket, e-grocer in
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
* ODM, Moroccan oncology and diagnostic services healthcare platform In 2018, NYC-based
Colony Capital DigitalBridge Group, Inc. is a global digital infrastructure investment firm. The company owns, invests in and operates businesses such as cell towers, data centers, fiber, small cells, and edge infrastructure. Headquartered in Boca Raton, Digita ...
acquired the management rights to Abraaj Latin America Fund II, which has assets of $545 million, the Abraaj Turkey Fund I with $526 million, the Abraaj North Africa Fund II with assets of $375 million, and the Abraaj Africa Fund III, which has assets of $990 million, and later in 2019 Colony acquired the firm’s private equity unit in Latin America. In July 2019, after Abraaj's liquidation British private equity firm Actis took over management rights on Abraaj Private Equity Fund IV (APEF IV), a global buyout fund, and Abraaj Africa Fund III (AAF III), a fund for investment in sub-Saharan Africa. In September 2019, Actis took over two more PE funds from Abraaj's liquidators - Abraaj North Africa Fund II and Abraaj South East Asia Fund II.


Private credit

Abraaj built a portfolio of private credit investments, diversified across sector and geography in emerging markets. According to the company, it sought to invest primarily in mezzanine debt, but could also invest in senior debt.


Impact investing

Abraaj's impact investing line of business included healthcare and clean energy. Abraaj's US$1 billion Fund brought together healthcare technology companies, foundations, development financing institutions and institutional investors, to address and impact poor healthcare outcomes in Africa and Asia. Its healthcare investments included Care Hospitals in India and Islamabad Diagnostic Centre in Pakistan. In September 2017, the firm announced a partnership with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Kenya to provide education, primary care interventions and more complex treatment for NCDs, communicable diseases and mother/child healthcare. As of September 2017, the firm had invested over US$1 billion in energy, including a partnership with
ENGIE Engie SA is a French multinational utility company, headquartered in La Défense, Courbevoie, which operates in the fields of energy transition, electricity generation and distribution, natural gas, nuclear, renewable energy and petroleum. ...
to develop a wind power platform in India. In January 2017, Abraaj acquired a majority stake in Jhimpir Power, to construct a 50 MW wind project in the Jhimpir wind corridor in Southeast Pakistan. In 2015, the firm announced a partnership with
Aditya Birla Group Aditya Birla Group is an Indian multinational conglomerate, headquartered in Mumbai. It operates in 100 countries with more than 1,40,000 employees directly and indirectly. The group was founded by Seth Shiv Narayan Birla in 1857. The group ha ...
to build a 1GW scale solar energy platform in India. In May 2019, after the forced liquidation of Abraaj, U.S. private equity firm TPG signed a definitive agreement to take over the healthcare fund.


Real estate

Abraaj’s real estate investment team invested in a range of real estate asset classes, focusing on attractive returns derived from underlying growth fundamentals such as urbanization and increased consumer spending.


Energy

Abraaj's energy team, branded as Themis, left the company in December 2017 to partner with a US investment firm. The Themis team relocated to Morocco with the objective of refocusing on the African power market.


Sustainability Initiatives

In 2012, The Abraaj Group became a signatory to the
UN Global Compact The United Nations Global Compact is a non-binding United Nations pact to encourage businesses and firms worldwide to adopt sustainable and socially responsible policies, and to report on their implementation. The UN Global Compact is a princ ...
and that same year, UN Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon Ban Ki-moon (; ; born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was his country's Minister ...
appointed CEO Arif Naqvi to the Board of the Global Compact. In 2014, Abraaj established the Abraaj RCA Innovation Scholarship at the
Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It offe ...
in London. It was the largest scholarship of its kind for postgraduate studies in the creative sector. The Abraaj Group Art Prize, the group's flagship arts patronage program, aimed at empowering potential and gives often under-represented contemporary artists the resources to further develop their talent. The prize celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2018. In 2015, Abraaj established the Abraaj Growth Markets Grant to support projects aimed at resolving socio-economic challenges in growth markets. Nine projects were selected ranging from developing myoelectric prosthetic limbs in
Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
to tracking crime patterns for a safer culture in Puebla.


Latest developments


2019

During April, the US regulator
Securities and Exchange Commission The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The primary purpose of the SEC is to enforce the law against market ...
filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York that Abraaj CEO, Arif Naqvi, had taken ~US$230 million from Abraaj Growth Markets Health Fund and commingled it with Abraaj Investment Management’s corporate funds to cover cash shortfalls for corporate expenses and other purposes unrelated to the health fund. Founder and ex-CEO - Pakistani national, Arif Naqvi, a resident of the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
was subsequently arrested in London during April upon his arrival from Pakistan and faces extradition hearings to the US to face the SEC complaint. He was subsequently released in May on bail of £15 million, has to wear an ankle bracelet and is restricted to his London residence. In July, the
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 ...
financial services regulator,
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 ...
fined Abraaj a record $314.6 million for deceiving investors and carrying out unauthorized activities, but it also acknowledged that it may never be able to recover the fine due to Abraaj's liquidation. During August Abraaj ex-CEO, Arif Naqvi, was sentenced to three years of imprisonment by a UAE court, ''in absentia'', in the misdemeanour case filed against him by Air Arabia PJSC, where he was a former Board member. Sivendran (Sev) Vettivetpillai, a British national was arrested at his home in April 2019 and pled guilty to charges of serious financial crimes relating to Abraaj at US District Court in the Southern District of New York via video conference from the UK. An Abraaj senior employee since 2012 after his investment firm Aureos Capital was acquired by Abraaj, Sev focused on impact investing, mainly within its healthcare fund.


2021

During January, Senior District Judge Emma Arbuthnot of Westminster Magistrates’ Court ruled there were no bars to extradition of Arif Naqvi to the US under several articles of Britain’s 2003 Extradition Act, and ordered the case to be sent to the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
's Secretary of State for a decision as to whether he should be extradited. During July,
UAE 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 ...
Emirate An emirate is a territory ruled by an emir, a title used by monarchs or high officeholders in the Muslim world. From a historical point of view, an emirate is a political-religious unit smaller than a caliphate. It can be considered equivalen ...
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 ...
's financial services regulator,
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 ...
imposed a $1.7 million fine on the former Chief Financial Officer of Abraaj, Ashish Dave, for his involvement in the failed private equity firm’s “misleading and deceptive conduct”. Ashish Dave alternated between stints at Abraaj's auditor, global accounting firm
KPMG KPMG International Limited (or simply KPMG) is a multinational professional services network, and one of the Big Four accounting organizations. Headquartered in Amstelveen, Netherlands, although incorporated in London, England, KPMG is a net ...
and as Abraaj’s chief financial officer, a job he held twice. At least two other members of Abraaj’s finance team in Dubai also previously worked for KPMG, including the son of chairman and chief executive Vijay Malhotra of affiliate, KPMG Lower Gulf Ltd. During November, two units of Abraaj that are now in liquidation, filed a lawsuit 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 ...
against KPMG LLP for damages of US$600 million alleging that KPMG accountants “failed to maintain independence and an appropriate attitude of professional skepticism,” and breached their duty of care when auditing the private-equity firm Mustafa Abdel Wadood, an Egyptian and Maltese national, who was senior executive officer (SEO) of Abraaj Capital Limited (ACLD), the DFSA-authorised unit of the Abraaj Group was fined $1.6 million by the DFSA for breaching its rules and deceiving investors. The DFSA also banned him from conducting any financial services-related business in or from the
Dubai International Financial Centre The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) is a special economic zone in Dubai covering , established in 2004 as a financial hub for companies operating throughout the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) markets. DIFC is regulated by ...
. From July 2006 to February 2018 he held various roles including managing partner, global head of private equity and board member. Mustafa is already out in the US on a $10 million bail since 2019 after having pleaded guilty, and his sentencing has been postponed by the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, pending the outcome of an extradition request from the UK of the company’s founder, Arif Naqvi. Judge Philippa Whipple of the UK High Court adjourned the matter of extradition of Abraaj founder, Arif Naqvi, until a similar point of law was resolved in another high-profile extradition case - that of Nirav Modi, an Indian diamond tycoon.


2022

During January, the Dubai financial regulator
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 ...
fined former CEO, Arif Naqvi, UAE Dirham 497.9 million (~US$135.6 million) and its former COO, Waqar Siddiqui, UAE Dirham 4.2 million (~US$1.2 million) over their role in the collapse of Abraaj.


Bibliography

* 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

* Harvard Business School case study - '
Abraaj Capital and the Karachi Electric Supply Company
'', HKS712 - August 2012 * Harvard Business School case study - '
The Abraaj Group and the Acibadem Healthcare Investment
'', 2013 * Stanford Graduate School of Business case study - '
The Abraaj Group: Making of a Global Private Equity Firm
'', F312 - 2015


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abraaj Group Financial services companies disestablished in 2018 Finance fraud Financial services companies established in 2002