Dubai-based contractor Drake & Scull International (DSI) has filed new criminal complaints with the Abu Dhabi public funds prosecutor against its former CEO and vice chairman Khaldoun Tabari, family members and former executive managers.

Responding to 15 prior criminal complaints filed by Dubai-based DSI, the prosecutor has charged Tabari for misappropriation, fraud, embezzlement, intentional damage to public funds, profiteering others and forgery. However, DSI did not reveal details of new complaints.

DSI has been pursuing legal action against Khaldoun Tabari to get him extradited to the UAE following his arrest by Jordanian authorities at Queen Alia International Airport in Amman.

The arrest followed an International arrest warrant filed by UAE authorities against Tabari that resulted in an Interpol red notice issued January 7 2020. DSI recently confirmed media reports regarding the arrest.

DSI has also filed a criminal case against Khaldoun Tabari and Zeina Tabari in Jordan.

Tabari was the CEO of DSI from 1998 until 2016. As oil prices started plunging from more than $100 per barrel in September 2014 to below $30 by January 2016, the company started posting losses.

DSI has alleged that losses running into billions of dirhams were hidden from shareholders by the previous management between 2009 and 2017. The current management announced last year that accumulated losses had crossed more than 4 billion dirhams.

DSI had filed 15 criminal complaints against the previous management, board of directors and some of their family members. The complaints are still under investigation by the authorities.

The UAE is trying to extradite Tabari. Both the UAE and Jordan are signatory parties to the Riyadh Arab Convention on Judicial Co-operation. Jordan has requested the UAE to send files regarding the cases so as to review, a DSI official told Zawya on January 15.

If extradited, Tabari could face a minimum of 15 years in prison, he had said.

(Writing by Seban Scaria seban.scaria@refinitiv.com , editing by Anoop Menon)

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© ZAWYA 2020