FFP Successfully Defend Multi-million-dollar Fraud Claim Before the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands

Funds under FFP’s leadership have successfully defended a claim for US$300 million in Abdulhameed Dhia Jafar v Abraaj Holdings Ltd Ltd (in official liquidation) and others FSD 203 of 2020, Segal J.

The FFP team, led by Richard Lewis and Nicola Cowan, had oversight of the operations of the replacement general partner of a former Abraaj group fund, and have successfully defended the US$300 million claim plus interest in the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands brought by Mr Abdulhameed Jafar, a businessman based in the UAE.

On 25 July 2025, the Honourable Justice Segal handed down his judgment, dismissing all of Mr Jafar’s claims. The judgment is currently subject to confidentiality restrictions.

The long-running proceedings were issued in 2020 and culminated in an 8-week trial, which concluded in January 2024.

Mr Jafar alleged that, prior to the collapse of the Abraaj Group in 2018, he was deceived by Mr Naqvi (the founder and CEO of the Abraaj Group) into advancing US$300 million by way of loans to entities within or associated with the Abraaj Group.

FFP team members were appointed as directors of GHF General Partner Ltd to manage the replacement general partner to the US$1 billion GHF Funds (formerly the Abraaj Growth Markets Health Fund). FFP also provided fund operations and administration support led by Kieran Clarke, and managed multijurisdictional litigation under the control of Richard Lewis and Nicola Cowan. Investigation and litigation support was led by Jasmine Herrod, with forensic assistance provided by Kieran Clarke.

FFP successfully stabilised the funds, managed underlying investments and restored compliance with all audit, tax and regulatory obligations. FFP utilised its highly experienced litigation support team of non-practicing lawyers, certified fraud examiners and forensic accountants to conduct detailed financial and factual investigations, uncovering key insights that informed strategic decision-making in relation to the litigation.

Throughout the intensive litigation, FFP managed the litigation strategy with counsel to ensure a robust defence was prepared, which included expert guidance on complex accounting matters and support to factual inquiries.

The FFP team working on this matter were Richard Lewis, Nicola Cowan, Kieran Clarke, Jasmine Herrod, Andrew Rutherford, Catriona Lefkos, Vikram Dookhy, Zoë Blight, Erin Powell, Matt Barnett, Jack Harwood-Scott and David Pitcairn. The GHF Funds are represented by Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton in London and by Walkers in the Cayman Islands, together with Stephen Atherton KC, Sarah Tresman and Patrick Dunn-Walsh (all of Twenty Essex Chambers).

For more information about FFP’s replacement GP and investigations services, please contact Jasmine Herrod at [email protected] or Kieran Clarke at [email protected].