<article>Following allegations of funds misuse at Dubai-based private equity major <a style="color: #000080;" href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/83482-83482/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Abraaj Group</a>, the firm has announced a re-organisation, appointment of a new leadership team and stalling of fund deployment temporarily.</article>

Following allegations of funds misuse at Dubai-based private equity major <a style="color: #000080;" href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/83482-83482/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Abraaj Group</a>, the firm has announced a re-organisation, appointment of a new leadership team and stalling of fund deployment temporarily.
At the core to the re-organisation will be the separation of Abraaj Investment Management Limited (AIML) and Abraaj Holdings (AHI), which will be independently managed, the PE firm said in an announcement on Friday evening. The &#8220;re-organization (is) designed to optimize performance through enhancing governance and accountability,&#8221; it said.
Abraaj founder Arif Naqvi has passed the reins of the fund management entity to newly appointed co-CEOs, Omar Lodhi and Selcuk Yorgancioglu. Naqvi will, however, remain the chief executive of the firm that he founded in 2002.
Both Lodhi, a partner and Regional Head for Asia, and Yorgancioglu, who oversees Abraaj investments in Turkey and Central Asia, have been with Abraaj for over 10 years. Both will assume their roles with immediate effect.
Even though the firm has denied any wrongdoing and appointed KPMG to conduct a review, the re-organisation is seen as a response to the allegations that were first reported by the Wall Street Journal. The report said Abraaj investors including Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation, World Bank’s International Finance Corp, CDC Group and Proparco Group had hired a forensic accountant to examine why more than $200 million that they had provided to the PE firm was not spent.
These funds, according to Abraaj, were not used as swiftly as others due to delays in getting approval from regulators to build hospitals in Nigeria and Pakistan. The firm had dismissed the report, calling it &#8220;inaccurate and misleading.&#8221;
In its statement on Friday, AIML said it has also commissioned a comprehensive review of its corporate structure and hired independent specialist consultants for it.
&#8220;The intended impact of the review, which has the full support of the Abraaj board and management, is to pave the way for future and sustainable growth of the firm by driving enhanced operational effectiveness. Going forward, AIML will have an independent board of directors to which internal audit and compliance will directly report,&#8221; the firm said.
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Following allegations of funds misuse, Dubai-based Abraaj Group has announced a re-organisation and has halted fund deployment temporarily.

Abraaj's Naqvi hands over reins of funds division in organisation rejig

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Abraaj's Naqvi hands over reins of funds division in organisation rejig

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