Dubai – Mubasher: Air Arabia on Thursday stated it had begun legal proceedings against Abraaj Group founder Arif Naqvi by filing a misdemeanor case in the Sharjah court.
This follows claims in the provisional liquidation of Abraaj Holdings and Abraaj Investment Management Limited, the carrier said in a statement to the Dubai Financial Market (DFM).
"Air Arabia's previously appointed team of experts continue to be fully engaged with the JPL's stakeholders and creditors involved in the matter as the court-supervised restructuring of Abraaj continues," the carrier added.
Air Arabia further highlighted that this issue had "no significant impact" on its business or its operations. Despite that, it said it was "fully committed" to protecting its investments, business interests, and shareholders.
In June 2018, the Dubai-listed carrier revealed that it had $336 million in exposure to Abraaj but also said it had appointed a legal representative to protect its investments after the ailing investment firm announced a court-supervised restructuring.
Earlier that same month, Abraaj was accused of mishandling a $1 billion healthcare fund, while audits showed that it had commingled investor funds with its own money.
In August, Abraaj Capital founder Naqvi resigned from Air Arabia's board.
Air Arabia last reported a 17% year-on-year fall in profits to AED 530 million in the first nine months of 2018, despite a 10% revenue growth to AED 1.28 billion.
In a separate filing, Air Arabia announced that its board had approved the company's annual budget.
