Founder of Dubai-based Abraaj released from UK prison after paying $19m bail
Arif Naqvi was arrested in April in connection with charges he faces in the United States of defrauding investors including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Abraaj, once the Middle East and North Africa’s biggest buyout fund, began to unravel after a row with investors over the use of money in a $1 billion healthcare fund
Updated 29 May 2019
Reuters
LONDON: Arif Naqvi, the Pakistani founder of collapsed private equity firm Abraaj Group, has been released from custody after meeting bail conditions including the payment of a £15 million ($19 million) security, a court official said.
Naqvi was being held at Wandsworth Prison in London after he was arrested in April in connection with charges he faces in the United States of defrauding investors including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
“These past weeks have been an extremely challenging time for Mr Naqvi and his family,” said a statement released on Naqvi’s behalf via a PR firm.
“He maintains his innocence, and he fully expects to be cleared of any charges. Mr Naqvi has repeatedly stated his commitment to be a positive force in resolving this situation for all stakeholders.”
A London court ruled on May 3 that Naqvi would be able to leave custody if he met his bail conditions, including the payment of £15 million and an additional surety of £650,000.
The conditions also included a requirement to surrender his Pakistani passport, to wear an electronic tag and to remain under 24-hour curfew at an address given to the court, a prosecution spokesman said at the time.
A court official said on Wednesday that Naqvi was released late on Tuesday after the bail conditions were met.
Naqvi is required to appear again at Westminster Magistrates Court on June 12, the court official said.
Dubai-based Abraaj, once the Middle East and North Africa’s biggest buyout fund, began to unravel after a row with investors over the use of money in a $1 billion healthcare fund.
Supplier hub to anchor Saudi car industry, says TASARU CEO
Updated 09 February 2026
Nada Alturki
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is stepping up efforts to localize automotive manufacturing, with its portfolio company TASARU announcing partnerships with five Tier-1 global suppliers to localize advanced component manufacturing in the Kingdom.
The agreements were announced at the fourth PIF Private Sector Forum in Riyadh. TASARU also revealed plans to establish a new Supplier Hub in the King Salman Automotive Cluster in King Abdullah Economic City, designed to support next-generation vehicle development and strengthen the national automotive ecosystem in alignment with Vision 2030.
TASARU also revealed plans to establish a new Supplier Hub in the King Salman Automotive Cluster in King Abdullah Economic City. Supplied
Speaking to Arab News on the sidelines of the forum, Michael Mueller, CEO of TASARU, said: “You cannot build cars without having the right partners from the supplier side, and with that, together with the OEMs, we selected the partners that we just announced today to localize them.”
He added that the presence of large international suppliers is expected to attract smaller Tier-2 and Tier-3 manufacturers, helping the ecosystem scale.
The five partners include Shin Young for metal stamping and body structures, JVIS for exterior plastics, and BENTELER for chassis and hot-formed steel components. Guangxi Fangxin will supply interior systems, while Lear Corp. completes the group, with all expected to establish manufacturing operations in the Kingdom.
Founded more than three years ago, TASARU was established to introduce new technologies into Saudi Arabia’s mobility sector. The company has prioritized localizing smaller OEM and supplier businesses while bringing next-generation solutions into the Kingdom.
Mueller said visible progress on factory construction by Ceer, Lucid and Hyundai is shifting perceptions about the sector’s viability.
“A lot of people on the sideline watched whether automotive is really happening,” he said. “Now they recognize that the factories … are under construction, so that’s the first signal that it’s not just the bubble. It’s not just PowerPoint. It’s getting real now on the ground.”
The CEO shares that KAEC is positioned as a hub for Saudi Arabia’s automotive industry, making it a strategic location for the TASARU Supplier Hub. The facility is designed to support OEMs and next-generation vehicles, including Ceer and Lucid Motors, through a shared, just-in-time manufacturing model with integrated logistics and regulatory support.
TASARU will provide infrastructure and operational support, while partners bring technical expertise and gradually develop training centers to build a local workforce, Mueller said.
He positioned Saudi Arabia as an attractive base for global suppliers because of its access to minerals and rare earth resources, energy availability and coordination across PIF portfolio companies and government entities.
“They have access to minerals. They have access to rare earth. They can benefit from what is already existing. They have stable energy solutions. I think this footprint might benefit from the whole ecosystem as it is, not just automotive,” he said.
Companies without a Saudi footprint risk missing a “huge opportunity,” Mueller added.
He said advancing the industry will require clearer regulatory frameworks, including defined trigger points and licensing pathways that allow companies to execute their mandates.
“Of course, you need to have more or less the regulatory framework to allow autonomous cars, sooner or later, on the streets. But it's happening, and this is a huge chance also for Saudi Arabia,” Muller said.
He added: “If you are advanced in bringing such regulations onto a fast track, then you have a huge opportunity to be one of the first countries that establish this.”
With rising traffic levels in Riyadh, Mueller said emerging mobility technologies could help solve first- and last-mile transportation challenges.
“If the Metro is already full, that is good because people are using it. Now, you have to connect the dots. You have to finally make sure that people get from home to the metros and or to the bus station. So this first last-mile transportation is something where new technologies might help to bridge that,” he said.
The CEO said the project is expected to take roughly one and a half to two years for suppliers to go live. More broadly, the initiative reflects Saudi Arabia’s transition from investment attraction to full-scale industrial localization, strengthening local content, private-sector participation, and long-term industrial resilience in line with Vision 2030.
