Canadian court orders freezing of Saad Al-Jabri’s assets on embezzlement charges: report

Saad Al-Jabri

The Ontario Superior Court in Canada ordered the freezing of the assets globally of Saad Al-Jabri, a former official now fugitive and living in Canada, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Al-Jabri was ordered to disclose his assets publicly or face possible imprisonment.

This came after the Public Investment Fund-owned firm, TAHAKOM Investments, filed a lawsuit against Al-Jabri, accusing him of embezzling billions of dollars, the report said.

The Canadian Court's decision urged banks, law firms and accountants in Canada, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States to disclose any records related to Al-Jabri's assets, and requested the assistance of judicial authorities in those countries to enforce the asset disclosure order.

The lawsuit included corruption charges relating to 26 properties in Saudi Arabia, valued at more than $43 million, luxury apartments in a Boston hotel, hotels and several properties in Canada, as well as the transfer of two properties in Geneva and Vienna, valued at about $400 million, from TAHAKOM to an entity under its control.

Last year, The Wall Street Journal said that the Saudi authorities were seeking to hold Al-Jabri accountable in a major corruption case of more than $11 billion, according to data compiled by Argaam.