David Haigh, the former executive of Bahrain’s GFH Financial Group and a convicted fraudster, has been told he faces jail if he fails to provide details of his finances to a UK court.
The warning follows a ruling by England’s High Court in May that GFH Financial Group can pursue Haigh for $5 million (Dh18.37m) in damages and costs.
The former director of Leeds United Football Club failed to attend the hearing on Friday, instead sending an email to the court claiming he had been unwell.
GFH Financial Group is seeking a disclosure order over Haigh’s assets in its bid to enforce a Dubai court judgment against him.
Lawyers for GFH argued that the threat of a “penal order” was necessary in an effort to make Haigh comply.
Due to Haigh’s failure to appear at the hearing to provide his financial details, Mr Justice Henshaw ordered that he has two weeks in which to do so or face jail.
Haigh claimed that he has been in hospital and in his letter to the court offered to provide evidence on Monday.
However, Mr Justice Henshaw refused to adjourn the hearing, telling the court that Haigh had made similar promises before. The judge said he had reached the conclusion that it was Haigh’s “deliberate choice” not to attend.
Haigh was deputy chief executive of GFH Capital, the investment banking arm of Bahrain’s GFH Financial Group, and led the group’s acquisition of a 24 per cent stake in the English football club Leeds United in 2013.
However, Dubai International Financial Centre Courts found Haigh to be a fraudster after about 100 forged invoices arranged payment into at least four different bank accounts in Dubai, London and Manchester. He has denied the claims and tried to prevent enforcement in the UK, where he has lived since 2016.
In May, Haigh applied for leave to take the matter to trial in the UK but his application was refused.
In the previous hearing, Mr Justice Henshaw had said there was “no realistic prospect of persuading this court at trial that the relevant findings in the DIFC judgment were incorrect in any material respect”.
Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.
As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.
Yuki Means Happiness
Alison Jean Lester
John Murray
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MATCH INFO
Real Madrid 2
Vinicius Junior (71') Mariano (90 2')
Barcelona 0
