Khadem al-Qubaisi

Khadem Abdullah al-Qubaisi (Arabic: خادم عبد الله القبيسي‎; born September 27, 1971) is an Emirati businessman and the former managing director of the International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC). In 2015, he was replaced as managing director of IPIC and later investigated in a series of probes into misappropriated funds in connection with 1Malaysia Development Berhad. He was arrested in the United Arab Emirates in 2016 as part of investigations into the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal. In 2019, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison for corruption and money laundering.[1][2]

Khadem al-Qubaisi
Born
Khadem al-Qubaisi

(1971-09-27) September 27, 1971
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Alma materUnited Arab Emirates University
OccupationFormer Head of the International Petroleum Investment Company
TitleHE

Life and education

Qubaisi was born in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates in 1971. He graduated from the University of the United Arab Emirates with a bachelor's degree in economics in 1993.[3] He is married, and has four children.

Career

In 1993, after graduating from university, Qubaisi joined the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), where he went on to become a senior financial analyst in the North American Equities Department. In 2000, he became an investment manager at International Petroleum Investment Company. In May 2007, he became managing director,[4] and in 2011, he took the additional position as chairman of IPIC's subsidiary, Compañía Española de Petróleos.[3] He was chairman of many other companies including NOVA Chemicals, Arabtec,[5] Borealis AG and OMV (in both of which IPIC owns a controlling interest), Aabar Investments (an IPIC subsidiary), Falcon Private Bank, Abu Dhabi National Takaful Company, and Hakkasan Group.[6] He was the director of Tasameem Real Estate Co. LLC, the investment company of Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who is a deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates and chairman of IPIC.[7] Qubaisi also served on the board of Bahrain's First Energy Bank.[8]

During his time at IPIC, Qubaisi was involved in several major deals, including the 2008 bailout of Barclays.[7]

In April 2015, Qubaisi was removed from his role as managing director of the International Petroleum Investment Company. He resigned from or was replaced in his other positions in the following months.[5][9]

Controversy

Qubaisi was replaced as managing director of the International Petroleum Investment Company in April 2015. Following his dismissal from IPIC, he resigned or was replaced from most of his corporate roles in companies controlled by IPIC.[10] In September of that year, a Malaysian investigative website Sarawak Report linked his dismissal to corruption allegations stemming from transactions IPIC undertook with 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), a strategic development company that became the subject of controversy when Malaysia's prime minister was accused of using it to siphon money into his personal bank accounts.[9] In 2015, IPIC had given 1MDB $1 billion, and taken on $3.5 billion of their debt in return for some of 1MDB's assets.[5] In April 2016, Reuters reported that the United Arab Emirates central bank had ordered banks in the UAE to freeze and provide transaction information on bank accounts belonging to Qubaisi or Mohamed al-Husseiny, another IPIC senior official. Officials investigating misappropriated funds in connection with 1MDB said that a total of $2.4 billion that was intended to be transferred from 1MDB to Aabar Investments was instead sent to a different company, established in the British Virgin Islands by Qubaisi and al-Husseiny, called Aabar Investments PJS Ltd. This company is under investigation by the United Arab Emirates to determine if it was used as a conduit for 1MDB funds.[11]

On 20 July 2016, United States federal prosecutors filed a lawsuit to seize over $1 billion in assets believed to have been stolen from 1MDB. Qubaisi was named in these lawsuits, along with al-Husseiny and several others, which added that the funds were used to purchase these assets as well as "fund the co-conspirators' lavish lifestyles."[12][13] This lawsuit is noted to be the largest forfeiture complaint filed in United States history.[14]

In 2019, the Wall Street Journal reported that Qubaisi was being forced by the Emirati authorities to give away his assets to Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan's privately owned company. Post his arrest, in an interview, Qubaisi said he was being blamed as a “scapegoat” by Sheikh Mansour. “I did this deal but I did it on behalf of the government of Abu Dhabi. They are putting everything on my back,” said Qubaisi.[15]

References
  1. Hope, Bradley; Wright, Tom (23 January 2019). "Alleged 1MDB Conspirator Says He Is a Scapegoat for Emiratis". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
  2. "Two Executives Linked to 1MDB Scandal Jailed in Abu Dhabi: WSJ". Yahoo! Finance. 16 June 2019. Archived from the original on 19 June 2019.
  3. O'Murchu, Cynthia; Kerr, Simeon (13 April 2015). "Deals raise oversight concerns at Abu Dhabi wealth fund". Financial Times. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  4. Carvalho, Stanley (21 July 2016). "UAE tycoon Qubaisi named in billion-dollar U.S. suits". Yahoo!. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  5. "UAE freezes assets of two former Ipic group officials". Gulf News. Reuters. 7 April 2016. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  6. Everington, John (23 April 2015). "Khadem Al Qubaisi steps down as Aabar Properties chairman". The National. Abu Dhabi Media. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  7. Hope, Bradley; Clark, Simon; Ngui, Yantoultra (2016-04-01). "Authorities Investigating Malaysia's 1MDB Fund Focusing on Bond Proceeds". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  8. Haider, Haseeb (18 April 2009). "Aabar Completes $253m Acquisition of AIG Private Bank". Khaleej Times. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  9. "'King Khadem' And His Sovereign Wealth! - IN DEPTH INVESTIGATION". Sarawak Report. 26 September 2015. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
  10. "Abu Dhabi hunts for $1.4bn payment in Malaysia scandal fallout". Financial Times. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
  11. "UAE freezes assets of two former IPIC group officials". Reuters. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  12. "US seeks to seize over $1bn assets in Malaysian corruption case". Asia Times. Reuters. 20 July 2016. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  13. Rosenberg, Zoe (22 July 2016). "Pricey NYC condos seized in connection with money laundering investigation". Curbed NY. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  14. Ritman, Alex (22 July 2016). "Follow the Money: 'The Wolf of Wall Street' Corruption Timeline". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  15. "Alleged 1MDB Conspirator Says He Is a Scapegoat for Emiratis". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
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