Britain's legal regulator has warned a controversial lawyer that he could face disciplinary action if he tries to start practising law again, more than 10 years after he was jailed in the UAE for embezzling millions of dollars from his employer.
David Haigh, 48, was deputy chief executive of GFH Capital, the investment banking arm of Bahrain’s GFH Financial Group, when a Dubai court found he used forged invoices to arrange for the money to be moved to his personal account and that of a friend. A year earlier he had bought a large farmhouse and a luxury hotel in Cornwall, but the properties were seized after court orders were enforced in the UK to recover the proceeds of crime.
In 2012 Haigh had led GFH’s acquisition of a 24 per cent stake in the Premier League football club Leeds United, and became managing director of the club. Since last year, Haigh has been appearing regularly on TV, describing himself as a human rights lawyer and commenting on Britain's immigration system. He is also referred to as a lawyer in TV and media reports.
Starting in April 2018, he faced disciplinary action from the Solicitors' Regulation Authority for alleged breaches of professional guidelines resulting from the GFH fraud. But that was put on hold in February 2023 after Haigh submitted evidence that he was medically unfit to take part in proceedings.
The SRA told The National that the decision to stay proceedings against Haigh was made by the Solicitors' Disciplinary Tribunal.
A representative of the SRA said that because Haigh remains on the roll of solicitors, he falls under the authority's regulatory remit, but that he does not hold a practising certificate. This means he is not entitled to perform any of the reserved legal activities that can be carried out by solicitors under the Legal Services Act.
However, because the word “lawyer” is not protected by law in England and Wales, anyone can use it to describe themselves. There are many legal activities, such as writing wills and offering legal advice, that can be carried out by people who are not practising solicitors.
Regulations were introduced in 2023 to clarify cases in which a solicitor's health can raise regulatory risks. These can include situations in which a solicitor is considered too unwell to take part in an enforcement process.
“Mr Haigh has proven to the SDT that his health is such that proceedings against him should be stayed,” the SRA representative said. “We have therefore removed his right to practice. Mr Haigh can only have a practising certificate and resume acting as a solicitor once he has proven that he is fit and able to do so – and at that point, the stayed SDT proceedings would recommence.”
Later in 2023, after the proceedings were suspended, Haigh appeared in court and successfully defended himself against an attempt by GFH to extend an order freezing his assets.
At the end of last year, Haigh wrote on social media that he had climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. The post was accompanied by what appeared to be a photograph of him at the summit.
Haigh is currently the owner and director of several companies, including Dubai Watch, which he set up in March last year, according to the UK's Companies House business register. The beneficial owner of the company is the Middle East Human Rights Association, which Haigh also controls and which was set up in September last year. Another of his companies, Haigh PR, was set up in March last year.
In January this year, he established Haigh Justice, which – like all of his other businesses – is registered at a mailing address in London. The nature of the business is listed as “justice and judicial activities”, according to Companies House.
Also among his companies are Haigh International Justice and Detained International. Haigh is described as a “solicitor (non-practising)” on the websites of these two companies.
Haigh was arrested in Dubai in May 2014 on arrival from the UK, where he was working as a director of Leeds United. In 2015, a UAE court convicted him of breach of trust and sentenced him to two years in prison. After serving 22 months, Haigh returned to the UK.
Since then, he has been involved in several protracted legal battles, with GFH seeking to recover the money he was found to have defrauded, after which he launched counterclaims against the company. His attempts to have cases delayed for medical reasons were met with a rebuke from a judge and restrictions on his ability to take further legal action.
In its legal suit against Haigh, GFH said he had used £1.6 million of the embezzled money to buy property in Britain, court papers show. He bought Trevorian Farm near Penzance in Cornwall for about £600,000 in December 2013, according to the Land Registry. The property comprises a farmhouse and adjacent land.
Haigh also bought The Cove Lamorna holiday complex, also in Cornwall, which included the freehold to 15 apartments. He made the purchase through a company called The Cove Estates, which he controlled, court records show.
He went on to buy leaseholds to nine properties through four other companies. Ownership of two of those properties was transferred to his sister.
Court records show that she has since returned her entire interest in the two properties to GFH. There is no suggestion she knew of the proceeds of embezzlement claims surrounding Mr Haigh.
On the website of The Cove Lamorna, the property is described as offering “stunning views, tranquillity, spacious and beautiful apartments”. However, the hotel is closed, and images showing it empty and falling into decay have been posted on social media by people who explore abandoned properties.
Six apartments at the site were bought by investors for sums exceeding £100,000, but they say the properties now lie empty and that they are unable to either use or sell them. Meanwhile, they continue to pay property tax.
One of the investors told The National that “we were treated very badly” by Haigh, who “did nothing but write threatening legal letters”. The investor added that they were “surprised” that Haigh was describing himself as a human rights lawyer. “Hopefully one day someone will come along and buy [the property],” they said.
When GFH launched its suit against him, Haigh submitted several counterclaims, including that the funds he had received were legitimate payments of salary, expenses and commissions. He also brought a private prosecution against GFH, which he abandoned after six months.
Haigh also accused GFH of using falsified invoices to make payments to other employees, and alleged that the company's claim against him had been fabricated to prevent him from whistle-blowing about its accounting breaches.
He also tried on several occasions to have proceedings adjourned for medical reasons. However, in 2018 a court in Dubai ruled that he must repay $5 million to GFH, with interest.
In the ruling, Sir Jeremy Cook, a British judge presiding in the Dubai International Financial Centre Court, described Haigh as a “fraudster” who had offered “risible” explanations for how the money came to be in his possession.
“Moreover, his conduct throughout these proceedings has been entirely consistent with that finding, in seeking to delay matters, in failing to give disclosure and in seeking to manipulate or play fast and loose with the court’s procedures,” the judge added.
In 2020, GFH went to the High Court in London to enforce the judgment against Haigh and his companies. Haigh again attempted to have the matter adjourned for health reasons, but judge Andrew Henshaw said that the witness statements and accompanying evidence he had submitted indicated that he “retained the capacity to deal with, and indeed initiate, legal matters”.
Judge Henshaw ruled in favour of GFH, and threw out Haigh's attempt to have the case heard at a trial on the basis that it would have no realistic prospect of success.
Britain's Land Registry shows that the properties Haigh bought with the embezzled money were seized by GFH in 2021. After the hearing, Haigh was denied permission to appeal and warned that he faced imprisonment if he did not provide details of his finances to a British court.
Eviction notices were served at a hearing in 2021, after a judge said he was “not satisfied” that Haigh's failure to attend a hearing was the result of health complications. Haigh had asked the court to delay the hearing for a medical appointment, but a lawyer for GFH successfully argued that he had intentionally scheduled treatment to conflict with the hearing.
High Court judge Dame Clare Moulder restricted Haigh from launching any further legal challenges against the order to repay the $5 million for two years, Law 360 reported at the time.
Judge Moulder said Haigh “cannot rely on his ill health to justify his persistent conduct in seeking to challenge findings which he does not accept”. The restraining order was set aside at a hearing last year.
In a statement, Haigh told The National that GFH and he have agreed to have the claims against him dismissed by the DIFC and the English High Court following a confidential agreement between him and GFH. “I remain on the roll of solicitors as a solicitor (non-practising). A practising certificate is not required for the pro bono human rights work I undertake,” he said.
GFH's Legal Department said it has “not withdrawn the claim regarding the embezzlement of funds”.
“That claim was already awarded in GFH’s favour several years ago, both in the DIFC and in the UK,” it said in a statement. “More recently, GFH settled certain UK cases regarding the enforcement of GFH’s rights arising from the DIFC and UK judgments. The terms of the settlement are confidential and therefore no additional information will be disclosed.”
