GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands: The Court of Appeal of the Cayman Islands Thursday directed that the multi-billion dollar fraud claim brought by Ahmad Hamad Algosaibi Brothers (AHAB) against Maan Al Sanea, an insider who has been alleged to have defrauded AHAB of more than $9 billion, should be tried in the Cayman Islands. A statement said the Cayman court had previously frozen Al Sanea's assets worldwide based on AHAB's claim that he defrauded it by repeatedly forging the signature of AHAB's chairman in order to obtain lending. With this decision, the stay is lifted and the fraud claim in the Cayman Islands can now proceed to judgment. “We are extremely pleased that the Cayman Island Court of Appeal has recognized that this massive fraud claim should be tried in the Cayman Islands,” said Eric Lewis, global legal coordinator for AHAB. “Maan Al Sanea has been saying that he wants to prove his case in court, while doing everything possible to frustrate and delay being held accountable. Now the facts will come to light and we are confident that AHAB will be shown to have been the victim of one of the largest frauds in history.” In delivering the judgment, Sir John Chadwick, president of the Court of Appeal, rejected Al Sanea's claims that there was no jurisdiction over him and that he was not properly served. The Court also held that the $9.2 billion worldwide freezing order of Al Sanea's assets should remain in place until trial. Al Sanea has a technical right of appeal to the Privy Council in London.
