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UK court dismisses claim against NBAD

The UK Royal Courts of Justice on Monday dismissed a claim against the National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) made by Grosvenor Casinos for gambling debts incurred by a Middle East businessman.

  • By Ahmed A. Elewa, Senior Business Reporter
  • Published: 00:41 March 18, 2008
  • Gulf News

Abu Dhabi: The UK Royal Courts of Justice on Monday dismissed a claim against the National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) made by Grosvenor Casinos for gambling debts incurred by a Middle East businessman.

The Arab, identified as Al Reyaysa, gambled £99 million and lost over £18 million at the exclusive Clermont Club in Mayfair in an eight-week period from December 1999 to February 2000, where two of his cheques, totalling almost £7 million went unpaid.

The claim, filed in 2003 and asserting that NBAD is liable for the amount, was defeated by the Simmons & Simmons' finance litigation team headed by financial litigation partner Jonathan Kelly, five years after proceedings were first threatened.

"From the outset, we were adamant in our conviction that NBAD maintained the uttermost diligence and adherence with the international banking practice and at no point did we compromise our standards nor our dedication to the best interest of our valued clients and investors," said Abdul Hamid Amer, general counsel, head of legal department, NBAD.

Grosvenor had obtained judgment against Al Reyaysa for payment of the two unpaid cheques, but was unable to enforce the judgment against him.

Grosvenor then turned its case against Al Reyaysa's bankers in Abu Dhabi, NBAD, claiming that the casino had extended credit to the gambler based on the strength of informal discussions over the telephone between an NBAD employee in Ajman and its bankers in Mayfair, Natwest.

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