A Saudi Arabian investor seeking to bring a fraudulent misrepresentation claim against Khalid Affara’s Arab Investments has become embroiled in claims of forgery and blackmail in the legal proceedings.
Dr Abdelrahman Abbar claims to have invested £500,000 in Arab’s proposed 945ft Pinnacle tower development on Bishopsgate, EC2, in 2007, in the belief that he would see a return on his investment within 12 to 18 months. He has been issued with an injunction restraining him from disseminating “an unauthorised version” of the judgment on the claim.
Arab denies any misrepresentation, claiming that it only asset manages the Pinnacle on behalf of the Saudi Economic & Development Company.
Abbar claims not to have known that the judgment had been altered.
At a high court hearing last week, judge Nicholas Strauss QC heard that a “radically altered” version of his judgment on the Arab case had been sent by Abbar to SEDCO and media outlets in
The judgment had allegedly been altered to suggest, among other things, that Justice Strauss had handed down a finding of fraud against SEDCO.
Justice Strauss said that there was “strong prima facie evidence that he [Abbar] has used a doctored version of the judgment to seek to blackmail SEDCO into settling the claim”.
The judge declined to make any further orders alongside the injunction, on the ground that Abbar had not been informed of the application against him and had been unable to give instructions to lawyers representing him in the claim.
christian.metcalfe@estatesgazette.com
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