By Ed Malik, A | ed@ddnewsonline.com | posted 13th february, 2025
Nigerian billionaire businessman Abdulrahman Bashar, owner of Rahmaniya Group and Ultimate Oil & Gas, has been sentenced by a Dubai court to one year in prison for financial misconduct involving CI Energy Company.
Subscribe To The Best Team In Conservative, Business, Technology, Lifestyle And Digital News Realtime! support@ddnewsonline.com
The ruling, delivered on January 30, 2025, marks his second jail sentence in less than five years, following a ten-month imprisonment declared by a UK court in 2020.
According to court documents, the UAE public prosecution charged Bashar, 48, with issuing seven cheques totaling 126.45 million dirhams from an Emirates Islamic Bank account with mismatched signatures. The prosecution argued that Bashar deliberately signed and drafted the cheques in a way that prevented their cashing. Despite being notified, he failed to appear for trial.
The court, relying on evidence including witness statements, cheque duplicates, and account records, found that the cheques were returned unpaid due to signature discrepancies. The court stated, “It is established that the crime of issuing a cheque is realised merely by giving the cheque to the beneficiary knowing that there is no balance available for withdrawal.”
In response, Mr. Bashar has vowed to challenge the judgment, describing it as a pressure tactic to threaten his reputation and business. He maintains his innocence and is working with global law firm HFW to overturn the decision.
He stated, “There are several ongoing civil disputes between CEE and Mr Bashar. The criminal proceedings have, in our view, been filed against Mr Bashar as a pressure tactic in the context of the Commercial Proceedings, to threaten Mr. Bashar’s reputation and business.”
This recent conviction follows a previous sentence in February 2020, when the England and Wales High Court sentenced Mr. Bashar to ten months in jail for flouting several court orders in a case initiated by Sahara Energy Resources. The court found that he had committed continuing breaches of orders requiring Rahmaniya Oil and Gas to release 6,400.49 metric tonnes of gas oil to Sahara Energy Resources.
Abdulrahman Bashar is the chairman of Ultimate Oil and Gas DMCC and CEO of Rahmaniya Group of Companies, operating across Africa, Europe, South Asia, and the Middle East. His companies are engaged in the trading, supplying, and distributing of African crude and oil products.
“It is established that the crime of issuing a cheque is realised merely by giving the cheque to the beneficiary knowing that there is no balance available for withdrawal,” the court ruled, with Judge Hussein Hamdi presiding.
The court added that the defence attempted to challenge the evidence to persuade the court to disregard it, but Bashar’s denial was deemed a tactic to avoid punishment.
To prevent delays, the court referred the prosecution’s compensation claim to a civil court for further investigation.
Justice Butcher of the England and Wales High Court had previously sentenced Bashar in February 2020 for breaching court orders in a case filed by Sahara Energy Resources.
“The basis of the sentence was that Mr Bashir had committed continuing breaches of the order of Mr Justice Robin Knowles of 1 August 2019 and of the order of Mr Justice Bryan of 6 September 2019,” Justice Butcher stated.
The UK orders required Rahmaniya Oil and Gas to honour a supply request for 6,400.49 metric tonnes of gas oil.
Subscribe To The Best Team In Conservative, Business, Technology, Lifestyle And Digital News Realtime! support@ddnewsonline.com
However, Bashar failed to comply, preventing the release of the fuel. The UK court imposed a £500,000 fine on Rahmaniya, while company manager Adebowale Aderemi was fined £10,000.
According to his company’s website, Bashar is the chairman of Ultimate Oil and Gas DMCC and CEO of Rahmaniya Group, operating across Africa, Europe, South Asia, and the Middle East.
My brother suggested I might like this blog. He was entirely right. This post truly made my day. You cann’t imagine just how much time I had spent for this info! Thanks!