Former royal aide jailed in Abu Dhabi says UAE authorities pressing him to surrender his assets.
- Claims pressured to sign over alleged ill-gotten assets
- Concerned with keeping “illegal wealth” instead of doing the right thing
- Complains of ill-treatment in prison
- Channelled about US$132m from 1MDB to pay for Topaz – 8-storey yacht with 2 heli pads
- Topaz leased for 2014 Fifa World Cup attendance by Leonardo DiCaprio and other celebs
The former managing director for the International Petroleum Investment Co (IPIC) has claimed that he is being made a scapegoat by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) authorities.
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that Khadem Al-Qubaisi, a former top aide to a “powerful member of Abu Dhabi’s royal family”, had said that the Emirati authorities were trying to force him to turn over his assets to a company owned by UAE deputy prime minister Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed al Nahyan.
Khadem further alleged that UAE officers have made occasional visits to the Al Wathba prison – where he is being held – to pressure him to sign over his assets.
These assets include land and villas in UAE to Das Holding – a private company owned by his former boss Sheikh Mansour, a member of the royal family.
Sheikh Mansour is also the chairperson of the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department, which oversees all criminal cases in the emirate.
Khadem said senior UAE officials were fully aware of his actions when IPIC became a key business partner to 1MDB, including guaranteeing the bonds.
At that time, Sheikh Mansour was also IPIC chairman.
According to the US Department of Justice (DoJ), Khadem – who also chaired IPIC subsidiary Aabar Investment – allegedly received US1.4 billion that 1MDB was supposed to send to IPIC via his offshore shell company account.
The siphoned funds were then allegedly divided between himself, fugitive businessman Jho Low and others.
Khadem was replaced as head of Aabar in 2015. and jailed in Abu Dhabi a year later without charges. He was indicted in the Swiss government’s probe into 1MDB.
“I did this deal but I did it on behalf of the government of Abu Dhabi. Now ‘they are putting everything on my back.’
“If I did something wrong for this Malaysia deal, okay, they can go and take my assets, no problem,” he reportedly said.
“Why is a private company trying to take control of my assets?”
However, an unnamed lawyer told WSJ that Khadem had allegedly abused and exceeded his authority to achieve “personal and illegal gains” and is currently concerned with keeping his “illegal wealth” instead of doing the right thing.
The lawyer also dismissed Khadem’s description of his prison conditions and treatment as inaccurate.
Khadem, who claimed he was handcuffed to a window in a corridor and left for 24 hours earlier this month, said his plan is to “die here in this place or to get out.”
WSJ also mentioned that financial documents reviewed show a bigger asset financed largely by 1MDB money – a half-billion-dollar yacht called Topaz.
“Financial documents reviewed by The Journal after the interviews show an even bigger asset was largely financed with 1MDB money but hasn’t been targeted by authorities: a half-billion-dollar yacht called the Topaz. Mr Al-Qubaisi directed companies he controlled to use approximately US$132 million originating from 1MDB for debt payments on the yacht between 2012 and 2015, the documents show.
Documents also show that the remaining loan on the boat was fully paid off in April last year by unspecified persons.
“The Topaz – a 482-foot yacht with eight floors, a swimming pool, cinema and two helicopter pads – was used and controlled by Sheikh Mansour until at least 2015, according to people familiar with the matter.
“Jho Low, the Malaysian financier who US officials allege masterminded the 1MDB scandal, leased it on multiple occasions, including to attend the 2014 Fifa World Cup with Leonardo DiCaprio and other celebrities, according to people familiar with the matter,” WSJ reported.
The fifth largest superyacht in the world, the Topaz’s current ownership is undetermined.
In the WSJ interview, Khadem also claimed that two of his nephews, who had the power of attorney over some of his assets, have been detained until they signed over US40 million in luxury cars to Das Holding.