1 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:07,040 This programme contains some strong language 2 00:00:08,040 --> 00:00:12,040 The reality is that nothing is one dimensional. 3 00:00:20,080 --> 00:00:23,040 On 10th April 2019, 4 00:00:23,040 --> 00:00:25,520 the aircraft I was in, British Airways, 5 00:00:25,520 --> 00:00:27,920 landed from Islamabad, Pakistan. 6 00:00:32,040 --> 00:00:35,040 I'd been doing that flight pretty much every week 7 00:00:35,040 --> 00:00:37,280 for the last maybe six months. 8 00:00:39,760 --> 00:00:42,760 An announcement that I'd heard many times in aircraft before 9 00:00:42,760 --> 00:00:46,280 was made on the plane, which was, "Everybody please remain seated 10 00:00:46,280 --> 00:00:48,760 "because the police want to come on board." 11 00:00:48,760 --> 00:00:51,040 I didn't give it a second thought. 12 00:00:53,520 --> 00:00:56,520 As soon as I got off the plane, on the gangway, 13 00:00:56,520 --> 00:00:58,280 there was another gentleman. 14 00:00:58,280 --> 00:01:01,040 This one was dressed in a police uniform, and he said, 15 00:01:01,040 --> 00:01:04,760 "Sir, I'm placing you under arrest under an extradition warrant 16 00:01:04,760 --> 00:01:07,880 "from the United States, and you need to come with us." 17 00:01:09,040 --> 00:01:13,280 Naqvi is also now waiting on a possible extradition to the US 18 00:01:13,280 --> 00:01:16,120 in order to face the charges, which include the likes 19 00:01:16,120 --> 00:01:19,280 of securities fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy, 20 00:01:19,280 --> 00:01:21,200 according to court documents. 21 00:01:21,200 --> 00:01:24,040 This is a major development in this saga 22 00:01:24,040 --> 00:01:26,600 that has been ongoing for some time. 23 00:01:28,040 --> 00:01:31,040 It's not about an explanation. 24 00:01:31,040 --> 00:01:33,040 It's not about redemption. 25 00:01:33,040 --> 00:01:36,520 It's not about justification or even seeking sympathy. 26 00:01:41,560 --> 00:01:44,280 One minute I was welcomed by the global elite, 27 00:01:44,280 --> 00:01:47,520 my opinions seemingly sought by so many world leaders, 28 00:01:47,520 --> 00:01:49,360 the next moment, here I am. 29 00:01:54,760 --> 00:01:58,040 It's a very different Arif from the Arif you folks knew. 30 00:01:58,040 --> 00:01:59,920 But it is still... 31 00:02:00,920 --> 00:02:02,760 ..somewhere there. 32 00:02:05,040 --> 00:02:09,040 Arif Naqvi had to be an astonishingly clever man, 33 00:02:09,040 --> 00:02:12,240 otherwise he couldn't remotely have done this. 34 00:02:12,240 --> 00:02:15,040 He was very ambitious, which is what you want, 35 00:02:15,040 --> 00:02:19,040 and he wanted to make money, which is what you want. 36 00:02:19,040 --> 00:02:22,440 The biggest private equity group in the Middle East is Abraaj Capital. 37 00:02:22,440 --> 00:02:24,280 Chairman and CEO, Arif Naqvi... 38 00:02:24,280 --> 00:02:28,680 People were looking at Abraaj as a success - a $14 billion success. 39 00:02:33,280 --> 00:02:37,080 The pitch that Arif was making was that he could make investors rich 40 00:02:37,080 --> 00:02:39,440 and end poverty. 41 00:02:39,440 --> 00:02:41,280 You're not just there to make money 42 00:02:41,280 --> 00:02:43,520 but you're actually there to achieve good. 43 00:02:46,080 --> 00:02:49,200 You cannot forget where you put $240 million. 44 00:02:49,200 --> 00:02:52,760 You became suspicious of everything and everyone. 45 00:02:52,760 --> 00:02:55,520 We were starting to text each other and call each other, 46 00:02:55,520 --> 00:02:57,720 literally going, "What the BLEEP?!" 47 00:03:00,760 --> 00:03:04,280 The more money he made, the more successful he got, 48 00:03:04,280 --> 00:03:07,280 the more he contributed towards the society. 49 00:03:09,520 --> 00:03:14,760 Potential unauthorised drawings of 300 million plus 50 00:03:14,760 --> 00:03:17,760 I still find substantially astounding. 51 00:03:17,760 --> 00:03:21,040 It was...a machine 52 00:03:21,040 --> 00:03:25,040 designed to defraud people. 53 00:03:26,040 --> 00:03:30,680 I am crystal clear in front of my Maker 54 00:03:30,680 --> 00:03:35,520 that I have never committed an intentional act of criminality. 55 00:04:00,040 --> 00:04:04,000 I was the piano player who played the month of January in Davos. 56 00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:07,000 This was my 27th World Economic Forum, 57 00:04:07,000 --> 00:04:09,280 so I've met a lot of people. 58 00:04:09,280 --> 00:04:11,520 Many prime ministers, my gosh. 59 00:04:11,520 --> 00:04:14,440 There's a lot of things going on in the daytime - 60 00:04:14,440 --> 00:04:16,520 discussions, conferences. 61 00:04:16,520 --> 00:04:18,520 I don't get to see any of that. 62 00:04:21,040 --> 00:04:23,040 The main party was the piano bar. 63 00:04:26,040 --> 00:04:28,120 My job is to make them happy, 64 00:04:28,120 --> 00:04:31,040 get them drunk and forget about life. 65 00:04:32,760 --> 00:04:35,280 I didn't know who Arif was at first. 66 00:04:35,280 --> 00:04:37,760 He came back every night, and it was when he slipped 67 00:04:37,760 --> 00:04:40,360 a nice big money bill into my hand that I realised, 68 00:04:40,360 --> 00:04:42,440 OK, I have to get to know this guy. 69 00:04:42,440 --> 00:04:45,160 Right? It isn't every day you get a 500 euro tip. 70 00:04:52,280 --> 00:04:56,160 On my far left, Arif Naqvi, the founder and group CEO 71 00:04:56,160 --> 00:04:59,040 of Abraaj Capital in the UAE. 72 00:05:00,320 --> 00:05:02,800 I've been a financial journalist for 22 years. 73 00:05:02,800 --> 00:05:07,280 Davos, which is this confluence of capitalists and politicians 74 00:05:07,280 --> 00:05:12,040 who, in public, talk about making the world a better place, 75 00:05:12,040 --> 00:05:16,000 and then in closed doors they're often doing deals. 76 00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:18,920 Arif was really in his element, 77 00:05:18,920 --> 00:05:23,360 talking with other money managers in public, on stage. 78 00:05:23,360 --> 00:05:25,440 You're an enormous investor... 79 00:05:25,440 --> 00:05:28,600 Because these markets have got liquidity, they've got strength, 80 00:05:28,600 --> 00:05:30,600 they're going to make up for lost time. 81 00:05:30,600 --> 00:05:34,320 Arif spoke the language of Western finance, but also understood 82 00:05:34,320 --> 00:05:38,920 the realities of countries where people lived on very low incomes. 83 00:05:38,920 --> 00:05:42,280 The vision that drove Abraaj to become a global force 84 00:05:42,280 --> 00:05:45,280 is harnessing Western-style capitalism 85 00:05:45,280 --> 00:05:50,280 to help achieve stability and better health and equality and prosperity 86 00:05:50,280 --> 00:05:53,280 in regions that are defined... 87 00:05:53,280 --> 00:05:55,680 ..by poverty and volatility. 88 00:05:56,680 --> 00:06:01,040 The pitch that Arif was making was that he could make investors rich 89 00:06:01,040 --> 00:06:03,920 and end poverty. 90 00:06:03,920 --> 00:06:07,880 This was impact investing, and I was its flag-carrier. 91 00:06:12,520 --> 00:06:15,520 He used to like to sit on the window ledge behind me. 92 00:06:15,520 --> 00:06:19,360 He just sat there drinking his scotch, enjoying the music. 93 00:06:19,360 --> 00:06:22,120 And I noticed he was wearing a white badge, 94 00:06:22,120 --> 00:06:24,280 which means you have access to everything, 95 00:06:24,280 --> 00:06:26,760 and obviously you're a CEO or a prime minister 96 00:06:26,760 --> 00:06:29,760 or somebody that can afford the - what is it? - the $50,000 fee? 97 00:06:30,760 --> 00:06:33,800 As the night progressed, he would loosen up a bit, of course. 98 00:06:33,800 --> 00:06:36,040 The next thing you know, he's got a microphone, 99 00:06:36,040 --> 00:06:39,120 singing Hotel California with me. Yeah, I mean, he's human, too. 100 00:06:40,120 --> 00:06:42,040 CHEERING AND APPLAUSE 101 00:06:50,520 --> 00:06:52,720 I turned up in Dubai with nothing. 102 00:06:52,720 --> 00:06:55,200 It was a city that was extremely good to me. 103 00:06:56,200 --> 00:07:00,760 In the 2000s, between 2000 and 2008, you put a dollar in anything, 104 00:07:00,760 --> 00:07:04,040 you know tomorrow it's two dollars, but then who makes sure that 105 00:07:04,040 --> 00:07:08,000 actually it's six dollars? So, Arif was the six dollar man. 106 00:07:08,000 --> 00:07:10,720 It was the only environment in the Middle East 107 00:07:10,720 --> 00:07:14,280 where you could effectively create a name through entrepreneurship. 108 00:07:14,280 --> 00:07:16,600 I set up businesses myself. 109 00:07:17,680 --> 00:07:21,480 It was innovative, it was fun, and we were earning money. 110 00:07:23,720 --> 00:07:29,080 Well, I got involved with it because I saw a very talented deal-maker. 111 00:07:29,080 --> 00:07:32,040 He was very ambitious, which is what you want, 112 00:07:32,040 --> 00:07:35,520 and he wanted to make money, which is what you want. 113 00:07:36,520 --> 00:07:39,280 He was very clever at flattering people 114 00:07:39,280 --> 00:07:41,400 and selling them a great story. 115 00:07:42,760 --> 00:07:45,360 Aramex was a transaction he had identified. 116 00:07:46,360 --> 00:07:49,040 Aramex is a courier company 117 00:07:49,040 --> 00:07:53,080 sometimes called the FedEx of the Middle East. 118 00:07:53,080 --> 00:07:55,120 Yes, it was a Middle Eastern company, 119 00:07:55,120 --> 00:07:56,920 but it was listed on Nasdaq. 120 00:07:56,920 --> 00:08:02,520 We announced that acquisition very late in 2001. 121 00:08:02,520 --> 00:08:08,520 Post 9/11, obviously we were diligenced to death by all parties - 122 00:08:08,520 --> 00:08:12,080 an Arab company buying an Arab company off the stock exchange. 123 00:08:17,520 --> 00:08:20,280 I mean, look, private equity was fashionable. 124 00:08:20,280 --> 00:08:24,040 A private equity fund ought to conduct itself by taking money 125 00:08:24,040 --> 00:08:26,600 from investors, then deploying it 126 00:08:26,600 --> 00:08:28,040 into investments, 127 00:08:28,040 --> 00:08:30,120 like acquiring a stake in a company 128 00:08:30,120 --> 00:08:31,520 which will be improved 129 00:08:31,520 --> 00:08:33,680 to generate returns, and then 130 00:08:33,680 --> 00:08:36,520 sharing these profits with investors 131 00:08:36,520 --> 00:08:38,760 when the company is sold. 132 00:08:38,760 --> 00:08:41,840 The weakness in private equity is the lack of transparency. 133 00:08:41,840 --> 00:08:44,520 You have to have a higher element of trust 134 00:08:44,520 --> 00:08:46,880 in the person or the organisation. 135 00:08:49,280 --> 00:08:52,120 I kept a very close eye on everything. 136 00:08:52,120 --> 00:08:56,040 I was overly anxious about his behaviour. 137 00:08:56,040 --> 00:08:58,520 We had one member of the Saudi royal family 138 00:08:58,520 --> 00:09:00,280 who was a shareholder in our firm. 139 00:09:00,280 --> 00:09:02,600 Now, the Saudi royal family is a very big family, 140 00:09:02,600 --> 00:09:05,680 there are thousands of members, and then I caught him claiming 141 00:09:05,680 --> 00:09:08,120 to say that we represent the Saudi royal family, 142 00:09:08,120 --> 00:09:12,000 and those sort of things got me very nervous. 143 00:09:12,000 --> 00:09:14,680 Ali and I never got on with each other. 144 00:09:14,680 --> 00:09:19,760 I found him to be a volatile keg and a difficult person to work with. 145 00:09:21,520 --> 00:09:23,840 Well, I think I pushed for the divorce 146 00:09:23,840 --> 00:09:27,760 because, at the end of the day, it was untenable. 147 00:09:33,720 --> 00:09:39,280 We separated from Ali very shortly thereafter, and Abraaj was born. 148 00:09:42,520 --> 00:09:44,280 Abraaj is towers. 149 00:09:44,280 --> 00:09:46,280 So, Burj is one tower, 150 00:09:46,280 --> 00:09:48,360 Abraaj is towers. 151 00:09:48,360 --> 00:09:51,600 The choice of the name was smart. It was very Arabic, 152 00:09:51,600 --> 00:09:54,000 although now it's global. 153 00:09:55,000 --> 00:10:00,240 Arif also liked what Abraaj meant in Hindi or Urdu. 154 00:10:00,240 --> 00:10:01,920 Now we rule. 155 00:10:01,920 --> 00:10:04,840 Now it's our time to be in charge. 156 00:10:04,840 --> 00:10:07,520 Those years were very, very important years 157 00:10:07,520 --> 00:10:10,280 and the deals...then the big deals started happening. 158 00:10:10,280 --> 00:10:16,280 When Abraaj sold its shares in Aramex in 2005, 159 00:10:16,280 --> 00:10:19,040 they made something like five times their money. 160 00:10:20,280 --> 00:10:24,600 That success attracted a lot of attention to Arif and to Abraaj. 161 00:10:33,480 --> 00:10:39,080 He started getting into the message, which was do good and make money, 162 00:10:39,080 --> 00:10:41,760 and that became his theme. 163 00:10:52,760 --> 00:10:56,120 Karachi is one of the most congested cities on this planet. 164 00:10:57,280 --> 00:11:00,720 Around 2008, power outages were routine. 165 00:11:01,720 --> 00:11:03,520 When there is a power outage, 166 00:11:03,520 --> 00:11:06,200 it means complete misery for very ordinary people. 167 00:11:06,200 --> 00:11:09,360 Life would completely come to a grinding halt. 168 00:11:11,280 --> 00:11:15,040 Karachi Electric was associated with that darkness. 169 00:11:17,040 --> 00:11:19,040 There was violence. 170 00:11:19,040 --> 00:11:20,760 There were riots. 171 00:11:20,760 --> 00:11:22,960 It was a very, very volatile place. 172 00:11:31,280 --> 00:11:36,040 Karachi Electric, with all its problems, was an opportunity 173 00:11:36,040 --> 00:11:40,280 for Arif and his colleagues to prove that they could bring about 174 00:11:40,280 --> 00:11:42,600 a real transformation of a company 175 00:11:42,600 --> 00:11:48,560 that would bring tangible, positive benefits to customers and citizens. 176 00:11:48,560 --> 00:11:50,160 Is it doable? Of course it's doable. 177 00:11:50,160 --> 00:11:52,320 It was a very good deal. People were jealous. 178 00:11:52,320 --> 00:11:55,520 It was the biggest foreign investment in Pakistan 179 00:11:55,520 --> 00:11:59,040 and, over the years, we found that Karachi Electric 180 00:11:59,040 --> 00:12:02,600 actually ran far more efficiently than the government was doing. 181 00:12:03,600 --> 00:12:06,760 I met Arif off and on in these days. 182 00:12:06,760 --> 00:12:08,520 The more money he made, 183 00:12:08,520 --> 00:12:11,800 he made sure that people in Pakistan benefited from it. 184 00:12:11,800 --> 00:12:18,040 My mantra of doing good is not just about giving money away. 185 00:12:18,040 --> 00:12:20,360 It's about having the direct impact. 186 00:12:21,520 --> 00:12:23,880 He set up this Aman Foundation 187 00:12:23,880 --> 00:12:28,440 and this Aman Foundation did a lot of charitable work in Pakistan. 188 00:12:28,440 --> 00:12:33,480 They set up this ambulance service in various parts of the country. 189 00:12:34,480 --> 00:12:38,280 Over the last decade, Aman has probably saved over a million lives. 190 00:12:38,280 --> 00:12:39,920 I know that for a fact. 191 00:12:57,760 --> 00:13:01,520 I've come here to Cairo to seek a new beginning 192 00:13:01,520 --> 00:13:04,800 between the United States and Muslims around the world. 193 00:13:06,040 --> 00:13:12,680 In 2009, President Obama went to Cairo to reset the relationship 194 00:13:12,680 --> 00:13:16,360 between the United States and the Islamic world, 195 00:13:16,360 --> 00:13:21,440 which had been torn apart by the September 11th 2001 attacks. 196 00:13:22,440 --> 00:13:25,840 Now, we know that military power alone is not going to solve 197 00:13:25,840 --> 00:13:28,560 the problems in Afghanistan and Pakistan. 198 00:13:28,560 --> 00:13:32,040 That's why we plan to invest $1.5 billion 199 00:13:32,040 --> 00:13:34,320 each year over the next five years. 200 00:13:34,320 --> 00:13:36,680 APPLAUSE 201 00:13:36,680 --> 00:13:42,760 After that speech, the US sought out partners in the Middle East 202 00:13:42,760 --> 00:13:46,760 with which a government fund could invest. 203 00:13:46,760 --> 00:13:50,480 One of the companies which stepped forward was Abraaj. 204 00:13:50,480 --> 00:13:55,240 The US Government pledged $150 million to an Abraaj fund 205 00:13:55,240 --> 00:13:57,760 to invest in Middle Eastern companies. 206 00:13:57,760 --> 00:14:00,520 Well, the biggest private equity group in the Middle East 207 00:14:00,520 --> 00:14:03,520 and North Africa today launched a Palestine investment fund. 208 00:14:03,520 --> 00:14:06,360 Here now to talk about that and what's going on with Dubai 209 00:14:06,360 --> 00:14:10,040 in the Middle East is Abraaj Capital chairman and CEO, Arif Naqvi. 210 00:14:10,040 --> 00:14:13,280 Securing funding from the United States Government 211 00:14:13,280 --> 00:14:16,800 was a big moment for Abraaj and for Arif. 212 00:14:16,800 --> 00:14:21,280 When you go through all the media hype about Arif at the time, 213 00:14:21,280 --> 00:14:23,680 it was all about do good and make money. 214 00:14:23,680 --> 00:14:27,760 How are you going to make this more than just a nice headline? 215 00:14:27,760 --> 00:14:31,520 So I think what it should be lauded as is a new initiative 216 00:14:31,520 --> 00:14:35,040 to create opportunity, because when people trade with each other, 217 00:14:35,040 --> 00:14:37,800 they forget about violence and negativity. 218 00:14:38,800 --> 00:14:43,280 The Americans saw him as someone who could be an important partner. 219 00:14:43,280 --> 00:14:45,720 These are the big players from the US. 220 00:14:45,720 --> 00:14:49,280 He did sit with these guys in forums and meetings 221 00:14:49,280 --> 00:14:51,920 and everything else, and I think it drags you... 222 00:14:51,920 --> 00:14:54,360 The more you do, the more you want from that. 223 00:14:54,360 --> 00:14:56,680 They were part of the same movement - 224 00:14:56,680 --> 00:15:01,040 this belief that investment capital can help end poverty. 225 00:15:10,280 --> 00:15:13,520 Five years ago or so, Arif Naqvi, who was from Karachi, 226 00:15:13,520 --> 00:15:15,120 bought this property, 227 00:15:15,120 --> 00:15:18,360 he turned this wonderful green behind us into a cricket ground, 228 00:15:18,360 --> 00:15:20,720 and then he got in touch with all his old muckers, 229 00:15:20,720 --> 00:15:23,760 entertained them lavishly, and sent them to play cricket 230 00:15:23,760 --> 00:15:25,440 and to make fools of themselves. 231 00:15:25,440 --> 00:15:28,280 I'm quite certain this year, we've got charities involved 232 00:15:28,280 --> 00:15:30,760 and things like that, it's going to be even better. 233 00:15:30,760 --> 00:15:34,520 Well, my name is Henry Blofeld and I've spent 47 years 234 00:15:34,520 --> 00:15:37,040 commentating about cricket for the BBC. 235 00:15:38,040 --> 00:15:40,960 A television producer rang me up and he said, 236 00:15:40,960 --> 00:15:45,280 "Would you consider commentating for me at a ground near Oxford? 237 00:15:45,280 --> 00:15:49,920 "There is this extraordinary rich Pakistani called Arif Naqvi. 238 00:15:49,920 --> 00:15:52,600 "He'd probably pay you quite a lot of money." 239 00:15:53,600 --> 00:15:55,520 That's gone all the way! 240 00:15:56,520 --> 00:15:59,200 Goodness knows how many technicians there were there, 241 00:15:59,200 --> 00:16:02,040 and, to my astonishment, was going to be shown nowhere, 242 00:16:02,040 --> 00:16:05,240 so, I mean, this was a great demonstration of extravagance. 243 00:16:06,240 --> 00:16:08,520 Here we are, a mutual celebration. 244 00:16:08,520 --> 00:16:11,520 The camera can't drink but Farokh and I can. 245 00:16:12,520 --> 00:16:15,520 And Imran Khan comes on to bowl. 246 00:16:15,520 --> 00:16:18,280 So this is really the witching hour. 247 00:16:20,280 --> 00:16:23,760 I've known Arif Naqvi for almost 25 years 248 00:16:23,760 --> 00:16:27,040 and I certainly consider him a friend. 249 00:16:28,960 --> 00:16:31,680 At the end of my cricketing days, I met him 250 00:16:31,680 --> 00:16:35,360 and he was one of those few staunch cricket lovers. 251 00:16:35,360 --> 00:16:36,920 Arif was very pleased. 252 00:16:36,920 --> 00:16:40,760 He was enormously pleased that Imran was dignifying his cricket ground. 253 00:16:40,760 --> 00:16:45,560 That will have done Arif Naqvi's street cred hugely good. 254 00:16:46,560 --> 00:16:48,040 Arif... 255 00:16:48,040 --> 00:16:52,520 Arif as a cricketer was not as good as his business acumen. 256 00:16:53,520 --> 00:16:55,480 And the boss has been run out. 257 00:16:55,480 --> 00:16:57,280 Oh, dear. 258 00:16:59,040 --> 00:17:04,400 He invited me because he also invited top Pakistani businessmen. 259 00:17:04,400 --> 00:17:08,040 After the match, we had a small dinner, a fundraising dinner, 260 00:17:08,040 --> 00:17:11,560 and that dinner was to raise money for my political party. 261 00:17:12,760 --> 00:17:16,520 Here were these people with huge amounts of money, and the principal 262 00:17:16,520 --> 00:17:20,280 was Arif Naqvi, who had got more money than any of them. 263 00:17:20,280 --> 00:17:23,040 When I look at my life story 264 00:17:23,040 --> 00:17:27,040 and I think, with all of that going for you, Arif, 265 00:17:27,040 --> 00:17:30,040 and with, erm... 266 00:17:30,040 --> 00:17:35,040 ..money that I earned that was way beyond my wildest expectations, 267 00:17:35,040 --> 00:17:40,040 and I felt that there must be a purpose to my life other than... 268 00:17:42,040 --> 00:17:45,360 ..generating the amounts of money that I did. 269 00:17:55,760 --> 00:17:58,520 Arif Naqvi was a very focused man. 270 00:17:59,520 --> 00:18:03,560 When I started running Unilever, you get exposed to hundreds of people 271 00:18:03,560 --> 00:18:06,040 and at that time he was one of them. 272 00:18:06,040 --> 00:18:08,680 He was a big advocate for a few things 273 00:18:08,680 --> 00:18:11,560 that I think we all believe in and still do. 274 00:18:11,560 --> 00:18:16,280 First and foremost, that you need to channel more of our world's capital 275 00:18:16,280 --> 00:18:20,040 to the right things - ie, making this a better world. 276 00:18:20,040 --> 00:18:23,520 This movement of people and institutions 277 00:18:23,520 --> 00:18:27,480 which was seeking to channel investment funds in a way that 278 00:18:27,480 --> 00:18:30,280 it ended poverty as well as making a profit 279 00:18:30,280 --> 00:18:32,720 came to be known as impact investing. 280 00:18:34,520 --> 00:18:38,280 I've been in the impact investing industry all my life. 281 00:18:39,520 --> 00:18:41,280 I'm doing what I love doing, 282 00:18:41,280 --> 00:18:43,880 which is investing and actually making a difference. 283 00:18:43,880 --> 00:18:46,840 I worked for a London firm named Aureos, 284 00:18:46,840 --> 00:18:49,280 which invested in the developing world. 285 00:18:49,280 --> 00:18:53,040 We were a boots-on-the-ground model and that's what many investors, 286 00:18:53,040 --> 00:18:56,040 pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, 287 00:18:56,040 --> 00:19:00,000 a couple of US foundations, loved about the Aureos model. 288 00:19:01,760 --> 00:19:04,040 Abraaj bought Aureos. 289 00:19:04,040 --> 00:19:09,040 Arif and his colleagues recognised that owning Aureos 290 00:19:09,040 --> 00:19:15,080 would open the doors to these Western government funds for Abraaj. 291 00:19:15,080 --> 00:19:20,040 Having international investors, and a whole bunch of them, 292 00:19:20,040 --> 00:19:21,720 makes a big difference. 293 00:19:22,720 --> 00:19:28,520 Abraaj was primarily the Gulf, Middle East, North Africa. 294 00:19:28,520 --> 00:19:32,440 We were in Latin America, we were in Sub-Saharan Africa, 295 00:19:32,440 --> 00:19:34,360 we were in Asia. 296 00:19:34,360 --> 00:19:38,680 So the Middle East's largest private equity firm, Abraaj Capital, 297 00:19:38,680 --> 00:19:40,280 continues to expand. 298 00:19:40,280 --> 00:19:43,280 The Dubai-based company has bought the UK specialist fund 299 00:19:43,280 --> 00:19:47,040 Aureos Capital, which has around $1.3 billion under management. 300 00:19:47,040 --> 00:19:50,880 The combined entity will manage $7.5 billion-worth of assets 301 00:19:50,880 --> 00:19:53,080 and that's across 30 countries. 302 00:19:53,080 --> 00:19:56,280 For Abraaj, the acquisition of Aureos 303 00:19:56,280 --> 00:19:59,520 meant that sort of at one click of a switch, 304 00:19:59,520 --> 00:20:02,360 you had a whole investor base 305 00:20:02,360 --> 00:20:06,040 which could normally take years to actually build up. 306 00:20:07,520 --> 00:20:10,640 And I joined the board of the UN Global Compact 307 00:20:10,640 --> 00:20:13,040 when Arif Naqvi was on the board. 308 00:20:13,040 --> 00:20:16,280 That's probably where I got to know him a little bit better. 309 00:20:16,280 --> 00:20:19,000 Did he stand out in one way or another? 310 00:20:19,000 --> 00:20:22,640 The world tends to be in monologue between us Westerners. 311 00:20:22,640 --> 00:20:27,520 He was an advocate, very much so, for impact investing 312 00:20:27,520 --> 00:20:30,280 for the emerging markets. 313 00:20:30,280 --> 00:20:32,720 The sheer force of development 314 00:20:32,720 --> 00:20:35,040 is what will make these markets grow. 315 00:20:35,040 --> 00:20:38,040 And it's extremely exciting to be a part of that right now. 316 00:20:39,760 --> 00:20:42,520 Arif became very adept in pitching 317 00:20:42,520 --> 00:20:45,840 Abraaj as a firm who could 318 00:20:45,840 --> 00:20:48,760 gather money from the richer parts of the world 319 00:20:48,760 --> 00:20:52,360 and invest in poorer parts of the world in a way that would 320 00:20:52,360 --> 00:20:55,320 make a profit and a positive impact as well. 321 00:20:57,280 --> 00:21:00,920 You cannot think of a forum that he or his people weren't there, 322 00:21:00,920 --> 00:21:04,520 or you cannot think of a prize that wasn't awarded to them. 323 00:21:04,520 --> 00:21:08,120 When I got to Dubai, the Abraaj headquarters, 324 00:21:08,120 --> 00:21:11,520 my first impression was, you could fit all the Aureos offices 325 00:21:11,520 --> 00:21:13,280 in this one office. 326 00:21:15,440 --> 00:21:20,040 The whole structure around Arif was almost like a president's office. 327 00:21:20,040 --> 00:21:23,760 Some seniors, as well as a lot of junior people, 328 00:21:23,760 --> 00:21:26,760 who were very loyal to Arif. 329 00:21:27,760 --> 00:21:30,280 One of these individuals was having a haircut 330 00:21:30,280 --> 00:21:32,200 and he got a call from Arif. 331 00:21:33,200 --> 00:21:37,040 He actually left the hairdresser's and went back to the office 332 00:21:37,040 --> 00:21:38,720 with half a haircut. 333 00:21:39,720 --> 00:21:41,720 When you're asked, "Jump," 334 00:21:41,720 --> 00:21:43,520 they asked, "How high?" 335 00:21:52,040 --> 00:21:55,640 The Gates Foundation believes that all lives have equal value. 336 00:21:55,640 --> 00:21:59,520 At the Gates Foundation, I managed the Strategic Investment Fund, 337 00:21:59,520 --> 00:22:03,360 designed to partner with for-profit companies and investment funds 338 00:22:03,360 --> 00:22:07,080 around the world, with the goal of alleviating poverty and ensuring 339 00:22:07,080 --> 00:22:10,680 proper healthcare treatment for populations around the globe. 340 00:22:11,920 --> 00:22:16,280 The first time that we know Arif met Bill Gates 341 00:22:16,280 --> 00:22:21,000 was when he hosted him at a dinner at his house. 342 00:22:21,000 --> 00:22:26,000 He puts on a very grand meeting for Bill and other luminaries. 343 00:22:27,000 --> 00:22:28,680 Bill Gates. 344 00:22:28,680 --> 00:22:31,080 It's... It's great. 345 00:22:31,080 --> 00:22:34,480 The buzz had skyrocketed itself. 346 00:22:39,480 --> 00:22:45,040 Bill Gates and Arif Naqvi agreed to do something in healthcare. 347 00:22:53,240 --> 00:22:56,400 It was a very large investment and it was important to us. 348 00:22:56,400 --> 00:23:01,640 It was probably a very proud moment for Arif to be able to say that, 349 00:23:01,640 --> 00:23:04,600 look, we've got this fund going and it's a few years after, 350 00:23:04,600 --> 00:23:08,040 you know, discussing this with Bill Gates and so on, and we're there. 351 00:23:23,000 --> 00:23:24,840 I'm from the emerging markets. 352 00:23:24,840 --> 00:23:28,000 I've always invested in the emerging markets for the last 25 years. 353 00:23:28,000 --> 00:23:30,760 I'm managing director and head of private equity funds 354 00:23:30,760 --> 00:23:32,680 at British International Investment, 355 00:23:32,680 --> 00:23:35,360 the UK Government's Development Finance Institution. 356 00:23:35,360 --> 00:23:38,040 The Abraaj team, probably the investor relations team, 357 00:23:38,040 --> 00:23:41,520 came to us to say, "We have this great idea of a fund 358 00:23:41,520 --> 00:23:44,760 "looking at affordable healthcare," and having Gates there 359 00:23:44,760 --> 00:23:47,040 gave us a lot of comfort in terms of, you know, 360 00:23:47,040 --> 00:23:49,680 impact will definitely be driving some of that agenda. 361 00:23:51,280 --> 00:23:54,360 Abraaj's healthcare fund was made up of heavyweight investors. 362 00:23:54,360 --> 00:23:57,200 The Gates Foundation, the UK Government's investment arm, 363 00:23:57,200 --> 00:23:59,360 as well as the French Government equivalent, 364 00:23:59,360 --> 00:24:01,520 put in almost $200 million between them. 365 00:24:01,520 --> 00:24:04,840 In addition, the US Government's Overseas Investment Corporation 366 00:24:04,840 --> 00:24:08,280 and the World Bank's private sector development arm committed in total 367 00:24:08,280 --> 00:24:09,920 around $250 million. 368 00:24:09,920 --> 00:24:13,040 All in all, when combined with other investors, we had $1 billion 369 00:24:13,040 --> 00:24:15,680 to make healthcare investments around the world. 370 00:24:17,520 --> 00:24:20,880 Once a year, there would be a formal Investor Week, 371 00:24:20,880 --> 00:24:23,920 where investors across all of their funds would come together. 372 00:24:24,920 --> 00:24:26,760 Arif had a very prominent role. 373 00:24:26,760 --> 00:24:29,360 Beyond the human suffering on the ground that affects 374 00:24:29,360 --> 00:24:30,920 each and every one of us... 375 00:24:30,920 --> 00:24:33,320 There was always a session around his charity - 376 00:24:33,320 --> 00:24:37,280 the Aman Foundation, and the importance of why it's not 377 00:24:37,280 --> 00:24:41,040 just about making money - that it also needs to ultimately do good. 378 00:24:41,040 --> 00:24:45,120 Whenever I saw him speak about that, I felt he really believed that. 379 00:24:45,120 --> 00:24:47,760 He was being genuine with his audience. 380 00:24:47,760 --> 00:24:51,480 The teams would get together from all around the world. 381 00:24:51,480 --> 00:24:53,960 The whole point is to mingle and to meet each other. 382 00:24:53,960 --> 00:24:57,520 You had music going on in the evenings. 383 00:24:57,520 --> 00:25:00,240 There would be pretty lively events. 384 00:25:01,240 --> 00:25:06,200 The firm wasn't one of the largest in the world, but the lifestyle 385 00:25:06,200 --> 00:25:09,760 and the characters that led it certainly were larger than life. 386 00:25:10,760 --> 00:25:14,280 I remember a specific incident when one of the teams 387 00:25:14,280 --> 00:25:17,240 was talking to us about a very aggressive business plan, 388 00:25:17,240 --> 00:25:20,080 so I kept kind of drilling on that. 389 00:25:20,080 --> 00:25:22,520 And eventually, you know, it was time for a break. 390 00:25:22,520 --> 00:25:25,520 We stepped out and Arif came to me, I recall, 391 00:25:25,520 --> 00:25:29,640 and he said, "You know, Clarisa, you ask a lot of questions." 392 00:25:29,640 --> 00:25:32,520 And I said, "Yes, I do. That's part of my job." 393 00:25:32,520 --> 00:25:35,200 He said, "No, but you're asking too many questions." 394 00:25:35,200 --> 00:25:39,520 You know, individuals will be charming and convincing 395 00:25:39,520 --> 00:25:42,400 and individuals will try to be intimidating. 396 00:25:42,400 --> 00:25:44,040 That doesn't work. 397 00:25:44,040 --> 00:25:45,760 You can try both. 398 00:25:45,760 --> 00:25:47,680 Arif tried that on me. 399 00:25:47,680 --> 00:25:49,520 That didn't work. 400 00:25:49,520 --> 00:25:55,360 My former colleagues had concerns with the professionalism 401 00:25:55,360 --> 00:25:59,040 of the Abraaj team and were very interested when I met with them 402 00:25:59,040 --> 00:26:01,840 in finding the nicest restaurant in Seattle 403 00:26:01,840 --> 00:26:04,520 and ordering several-hundred-dollar bottles of wine. 404 00:26:04,520 --> 00:26:06,320 That's what they were focused on. 405 00:26:06,320 --> 00:26:10,280 We at Abraaj, I at Abraaj, we were not bad people. 406 00:26:10,280 --> 00:26:12,120 We were never bad people. 407 00:26:12,120 --> 00:26:15,360 We wanted to change the world and we were trying to do that. 408 00:26:20,760 --> 00:26:24,120 HENRY BLOFELD: There was one time when I was staying in Dubai, 409 00:26:24,120 --> 00:26:27,520 Blair and I were asked to dinner by Arif Naqvi 410 00:26:27,520 --> 00:26:29,760 at his house at Emirates Hills. 411 00:26:30,760 --> 00:26:32,680 We had an amazing evening. 412 00:26:32,680 --> 00:26:35,000 We must have been 30 to dinner at least. 413 00:26:35,000 --> 00:26:37,440 I mean, the wine, we didn't drink Chateau Petrus, 414 00:26:37,440 --> 00:26:39,960 which he produced, I think, at many of his parties. 415 00:26:39,960 --> 00:26:44,280 He wanted all the time to impress and go one up, if he could, 416 00:26:44,280 --> 00:26:47,680 on all his friends, and I think his house in Emirates Hills 417 00:26:47,680 --> 00:26:50,040 was very much a part of his one-upmanship. 418 00:26:50,040 --> 00:26:53,600 Emirates Hills is a place populated by the billionaires of the world. 419 00:26:53,600 --> 00:26:56,600 In the middle of Emirates Hills, he built a huge mosque, 420 00:26:56,600 --> 00:27:00,280 a huge complex named after his father, Masood Naqvi. 421 00:27:00,280 --> 00:27:04,280 That Islamic centre means a lot to the local community. 422 00:27:04,280 --> 00:27:07,760 You will see billionaires rubbing shoulders with the workers 423 00:27:07,760 --> 00:27:10,960 who work in these houses of billionaires. 424 00:27:10,960 --> 00:27:13,280 It was accepted that he had a yacht 425 00:27:13,280 --> 00:27:16,680 and that he flew everywhere by private jet. 426 00:27:16,680 --> 00:27:18,760 Again, I mean, my inner... 427 00:27:18,760 --> 00:27:22,520 I thought, "Well, there's Arif showing that he's a very rich man." 428 00:27:22,520 --> 00:27:28,800 The reality is that the finances of Abraaj are in a dangerous state. 429 00:27:28,800 --> 00:27:33,320 The firm was most definitely spending more than it was earning. 430 00:27:38,520 --> 00:27:42,280 I joined, I think, on 26th Jan 2016. 431 00:27:43,520 --> 00:27:45,760 As I went into the grinding machine, 432 00:27:45,760 --> 00:27:48,040 it was quite interesting, I must say. 433 00:27:48,040 --> 00:27:52,520 One of my mandates was to control costs, resize the organisation. 434 00:27:52,520 --> 00:27:56,640 He used to tell me, "Listen, my problem is I'm too generous. 435 00:27:56,640 --> 00:28:01,280 "We have a huge set-up. Maybe we can do with less. I don't know. 436 00:28:01,280 --> 00:28:06,280 "But I need someone who, you know... Merciless, you know? 437 00:28:06,280 --> 00:28:08,040 "I'd like you to... 438 00:28:08,040 --> 00:28:12,360 "And, you know, it's known that I do what needs to be done, OK?" 439 00:28:14,040 --> 00:28:17,360 We had the highest headcount of investment staff 440 00:28:17,360 --> 00:28:20,800 per dollar under management in the world. 441 00:28:20,800 --> 00:28:23,480 The firm has gone into marketing overdrive 442 00:28:23,480 --> 00:28:28,040 and the message that's being put out publicly is one of success, 443 00:28:28,040 --> 00:28:30,520 of having a great track record, 444 00:28:30,520 --> 00:28:34,280 of being in partnership with Bill Gates and the likes. 445 00:28:35,280 --> 00:28:37,760 You go to World Economic Forum meetings, 446 00:28:37,760 --> 00:28:39,760 we had presence bigger than... 447 00:28:39,760 --> 00:28:42,720 ..you know, can I say Goldman Sachs, for example? 448 00:28:43,720 --> 00:28:47,400 You know, bigger than global investment banks. 449 00:28:48,400 --> 00:28:53,520 I believe in investing in presents, but it was too excessive. 450 00:28:59,040 --> 00:29:04,040 A very small group of people, maybe four, five, six, 451 00:29:04,040 --> 00:29:08,520 at the heart of Abraaj knew the extent of a Abraaj's problems. 452 00:29:08,520 --> 00:29:13,280 The most important one was the book-keeper... 453 00:29:13,280 --> 00:29:15,000 ..who is Rafique. 454 00:29:15,000 --> 00:29:19,040 Abraaj's finance department is managed 455 00:29:19,040 --> 00:29:22,040 by a man called Rafique Lakhani. 456 00:29:22,040 --> 00:29:26,680 His office was filled with paper receipts. 457 00:29:26,680 --> 00:29:29,520 Rafique was a tireless employee of Arif. 458 00:29:29,520 --> 00:29:31,280 Extremely loyal. 459 00:29:31,280 --> 00:29:33,440 Same for Waqar Siddique, 460 00:29:33,440 --> 00:29:37,120 who is Arif's brother-in-law and a senior executive. 461 00:29:37,120 --> 00:29:39,360 To keep the firm from failing, 462 00:29:39,360 --> 00:29:44,200 Rafique and Arif were moving money around. 463 00:29:44,200 --> 00:29:46,840 Two people who know the most were Waqar and Rafique. 464 00:29:56,040 --> 00:30:01,160 Rafique, under Arif's guidance, was moving money 465 00:30:01,160 --> 00:30:03,920 out of the healthcare fund and then using that 466 00:30:03,920 --> 00:30:07,760 to pay for various costs elsewhere in Abraaj. 467 00:30:13,480 --> 00:30:15,480 It was a juggling act. 468 00:30:21,200 --> 00:30:24,520 So the way funds work is the fund manager, in this case Abraaj, 469 00:30:24,520 --> 00:30:28,600 will say, "We're about to make an investment in this hospital network. 470 00:30:28,600 --> 00:30:31,120 "We need $50 million to make that investment." 471 00:30:31,120 --> 00:30:34,920 The money is actually drawn down, as it's called, from the investors 472 00:30:34,920 --> 00:30:38,040 slowly over time, little by little over time. 473 00:30:38,040 --> 00:30:44,920 What was unique about the Abraaj fund is they very quickly said, 474 00:30:44,920 --> 00:30:47,080 "We need several hundred million dollars." 475 00:30:47,080 --> 00:30:50,280 There was a small drawdown made in September of 2016, 476 00:30:50,280 --> 00:30:52,360 but then in December 2016, 477 00:30:52,360 --> 00:30:55,920 there was a drawdown for almost $400 million. 478 00:30:55,920 --> 00:30:58,880 So at first we thought that was a good sign. 479 00:30:58,880 --> 00:31:01,440 It was an indication that they had done their homework 480 00:31:01,440 --> 00:31:05,040 and had a large number of deals that were ready to move quickly. 481 00:31:06,280 --> 00:31:10,760 However, after just a few months, we realised that they were 482 00:31:10,760 --> 00:31:13,280 drawing down much more money 483 00:31:13,280 --> 00:31:16,320 than they were actually using to invest. 484 00:31:16,320 --> 00:31:19,520 Something is wrong here. Something makes no sense. 485 00:31:24,760 --> 00:31:26,440 So when March came, 486 00:31:26,440 --> 00:31:29,280 they said, "This is the update on the overall portfolio." 487 00:31:29,280 --> 00:31:32,040 And we said, "There's still some money that hasn't been drawn. 488 00:31:32,040 --> 00:31:34,560 "You should be using that or giving it back to investors." 489 00:31:34,560 --> 00:31:37,520 They said, "No, it's going to be utilised in the very short term 490 00:31:37,520 --> 00:31:40,040 "and we're actually going to be asking for more money 491 00:31:40,040 --> 00:31:43,040 "from you tomorrow in the order of $115 million." 492 00:31:43,040 --> 00:31:46,480 And we said, "Well, you've had more than that already in cash." 493 00:31:46,480 --> 00:31:50,360 Very quickly you realised that you needed to ask many more questions 494 00:31:50,360 --> 00:31:52,040 because... 495 00:31:52,040 --> 00:31:55,280 ..the answers weren't fully making sense. 496 00:32:01,440 --> 00:32:04,880 I was invited by Arif to do this Art Dubai. 497 00:32:04,880 --> 00:32:07,120 We were guests at the Ritz-Carlton. 498 00:32:07,120 --> 00:32:10,720 I had a chauffeur with a Mercedes 500 come to pick me up. 499 00:32:10,720 --> 00:32:15,240 And Art Dubai was not far from that famous hotel that looks like a sail. 500 00:32:15,240 --> 00:32:16,840 It was a major event. 501 00:32:16,840 --> 00:32:20,440 One of the biggest fixtures of the Dubai social scene. 502 00:32:20,440 --> 00:32:22,960 The whole mood was just very sombre. 503 00:32:22,960 --> 00:32:25,080 Arif was very quiet. 504 00:32:25,080 --> 00:32:27,680 He shook a few hands. He didn't stay long. 505 00:32:27,680 --> 00:32:30,160 And for the first time, he did not even 506 00:32:30,160 --> 00:32:32,080 come over to say hello to me. 507 00:32:32,080 --> 00:32:33,760 Something big is happening. 508 00:32:33,760 --> 00:32:36,040 I don't know what it is but I didn't like it. 509 00:32:36,040 --> 00:32:38,600 There was a lot happening in the background, 510 00:32:38,600 --> 00:32:41,360 which later I got to realise, the pressure - 511 00:32:41,360 --> 00:32:45,000 one, from the healthcare investors. "Where is the cash? 512 00:32:45,000 --> 00:32:47,200 "Why are you sitting on so much cash?" 513 00:32:48,760 --> 00:32:54,720 So I started emailing and calling the fund managers repeatedly. 514 00:32:54,720 --> 00:32:57,680 After several weeks of back and forth, they said, 515 00:32:57,680 --> 00:33:01,040 "Because we trust you, Andrew, and because of our close relationship 516 00:33:01,040 --> 00:33:04,040 "with the Gates Foundation, this one time we will tell you 517 00:33:04,040 --> 00:33:06,400 "where the money is - which bank account it's in." 518 00:33:06,400 --> 00:33:09,920 And they sent me a audit statement showing that that $200 million 519 00:33:09,920 --> 00:33:12,680 was sitting in the Commercial Bank of Dubai. 520 00:33:12,680 --> 00:33:16,040 That interaction got me more and more concerned. 521 00:33:18,040 --> 00:33:21,080 In September 2017, 522 00:33:21,080 --> 00:33:24,800 just organising the investor meeting for October. 523 00:33:25,800 --> 00:33:28,840 You normally have the investors by conference call. 524 00:33:28,840 --> 00:33:31,240 And so, on that call, it was a different set of people 525 00:33:31,240 --> 00:33:33,360 than I had been interacting with previously 526 00:33:33,360 --> 00:33:36,040 when they told me it was in the Commercial Bank of Dubai, 527 00:33:36,040 --> 00:33:39,520 so I thought, "I'm just going to ask again - where is the money sitting?" 528 00:33:39,520 --> 00:33:42,920 The financial controller gave an answer. 529 00:33:42,920 --> 00:33:44,600 A particular bank. 530 00:33:44,600 --> 00:33:47,280 "Oh, don't worry about it. It's in Standard Bank." 531 00:33:48,760 --> 00:33:52,280 I remember there was sort of silence for a few seconds 532 00:33:52,280 --> 00:33:55,040 and then, on the phone, 533 00:33:55,040 --> 00:33:57,960 "That's not the information or the bank account I got." 534 00:33:57,960 --> 00:34:01,320 And all of a sudden it was like, "What?" You know, "What's going on?" 535 00:34:01,320 --> 00:34:04,200 And at that point, my head exploded. 536 00:34:04,200 --> 00:34:08,440 You cannot forget where you put $240 million. 537 00:34:08,440 --> 00:34:12,280 A formal letter was sent - Gates, on behalf of the investors 538 00:34:12,280 --> 00:34:15,680 from the committee, saying, "You have until the end of the year 539 00:34:15,680 --> 00:34:18,680 "to return our capital, to show us a bank statement." 540 00:34:20,280 --> 00:34:22,280 The response was not good. 541 00:34:22,280 --> 00:34:26,200 At that point, Arif reached out to everyone 542 00:34:26,200 --> 00:34:30,760 who managed the fund's boss within their organisations. 543 00:34:30,760 --> 00:34:36,040 This over-the-top explosion, trying to get everyone fired, 544 00:34:36,040 --> 00:34:39,160 that's an indication that something is very, very wrong. 545 00:34:40,520 --> 00:34:44,280 Asking for a bank statement is not an outrageous request. 546 00:34:44,280 --> 00:34:49,760 Abraaj and Arif personally appeared to take that as a lack of trust. 547 00:34:49,760 --> 00:34:52,360 And that's when I really knew for the first time 548 00:34:52,360 --> 00:34:54,680 that we likely had a case of fraud. 549 00:35:06,760 --> 00:35:09,720 The Prime Minister is not a job I aspired to, 550 00:35:09,720 --> 00:35:12,040 but it's a big responsibility. 551 00:35:12,040 --> 00:35:15,320 So, I took office on August 1st 2017 552 00:35:15,320 --> 00:35:19,720 and completed my constitutional term of ten months. 553 00:35:20,720 --> 00:35:26,040 Naqvi asked to meet me in relation to the issues of K-Electric. 554 00:35:26,040 --> 00:35:28,680 I felt that it was very important to him. 555 00:35:28,680 --> 00:35:32,040 A successful sale of Karachi Electric would have brought 556 00:35:32,040 --> 00:35:34,040 hundreds of millions of dollars. 557 00:35:35,040 --> 00:35:38,520 He raised emphasis on the fact that this was critical 558 00:35:38,520 --> 00:35:39,920 for Abraaj and him. 559 00:35:43,760 --> 00:35:46,040 He was bringing in Shanghai Electric, 560 00:35:46,040 --> 00:35:48,520 which was the premier power utility in the world. 561 00:35:48,520 --> 00:35:51,000 It was something that I felt, as the Prime Minister, 562 00:35:51,000 --> 00:35:54,360 was important for Pakistan, so I was trying to facilitate 563 00:35:54,360 --> 00:35:56,000 the transaction to take place. 564 00:35:56,000 --> 00:35:59,520 In fact, I asked my military secretary 565 00:35:59,520 --> 00:36:03,240 to allow him full access to me and my office. 566 00:36:07,280 --> 00:36:11,160 It was the single largest Chinese investment into Pakistan, 567 00:36:11,160 --> 00:36:14,360 so there is a geopolitical situation. 568 00:36:14,360 --> 00:36:18,760 For a huge city's electricity and power to go into the Chinese hands, 569 00:36:18,760 --> 00:36:22,000 it's not what it was like by the Americans. 570 00:36:22,000 --> 00:36:24,760 And you always find out about these issues 571 00:36:24,760 --> 00:36:29,000 about a quarter of a century later, when the documents are declassified. 572 00:36:30,000 --> 00:36:33,040 A whole host of issues. We resolved many of them, 573 00:36:33,040 --> 00:36:35,960 but we could not finalise that transaction. 574 00:36:35,960 --> 00:36:38,520 Perhaps Abraaj, with the extra money, 575 00:36:38,520 --> 00:36:40,680 would have been in a better situation. 576 00:36:40,680 --> 00:36:42,680 We can only speculate on that. 577 00:36:53,280 --> 00:36:57,760 In September 2017, Arif travelled to New York. 578 00:36:57,760 --> 00:37:01,760 He gives a very big speech about impact investing 579 00:37:01,760 --> 00:37:05,520 at a conference which is timed to coincide 580 00:37:05,520 --> 00:37:08,040 with the UN General Assembly, 581 00:37:08,040 --> 00:37:11,520 so he's in town with the great and the good. 582 00:37:11,520 --> 00:37:15,400 World leaders, CEOs, billionaires. 583 00:37:16,520 --> 00:37:19,040 You cannot create a great company 584 00:37:19,040 --> 00:37:21,240 unless you start with a good company. 585 00:37:21,240 --> 00:37:25,040 And a good company is one that stands for what society stands for. 586 00:37:25,040 --> 00:37:27,400 He was speaking at a time 587 00:37:27,400 --> 00:37:31,640 when something seriously wrong was happening at Abraaj. 588 00:37:31,640 --> 00:37:34,520 All of us are looking to make a difference, 589 00:37:34,520 --> 00:37:37,120 hopefully in the lives of anywhere upwards of 590 00:37:37,120 --> 00:37:39,000 200 to 300 million people. 591 00:37:39,000 --> 00:37:41,120 Thank you very much. 592 00:37:39,000 --> 00:37:41,120 APPLAUSE 593 00:37:41,120 --> 00:37:44,040 This is not the way to end global poverty, 594 00:37:44,040 --> 00:37:47,520 by telling investors one thing and citizens one thing 595 00:37:47,520 --> 00:37:49,760 and then doing something else. 596 00:37:56,560 --> 00:38:00,760 The foundation started receiving whistle-blower emails 597 00:38:00,760 --> 00:38:04,280 from an email, WB Abraaj at Gmail, or whatever it was, 598 00:38:04,280 --> 00:38:06,760 which stood for Whistle-blower Abraaj... 599 00:38:09,760 --> 00:38:12,280 ..basically saying, you're on the right track, 600 00:38:12,280 --> 00:38:14,120 you're figuring things out. 601 00:38:14,120 --> 00:38:17,520 You and the other investors, keep digging. 602 00:38:24,360 --> 00:38:28,280 I was told by Dubai HQ that any more interaction with investors 603 00:38:28,280 --> 00:38:30,760 is to be dealt with by a small group of people, 604 00:38:30,760 --> 00:38:32,760 of which I'm not one of them. 605 00:38:32,760 --> 00:38:37,280 And at that point, I went to the management of the Gates Foundation 606 00:38:37,280 --> 00:38:41,040 and said, "We have a major problem. We need to dig into it." 607 00:38:41,040 --> 00:38:45,040 Abraaj sent us yet another statement for one day 608 00:38:45,040 --> 00:38:49,760 showing that the $200 million was sitting in the account on that day, 609 00:38:49,760 --> 00:38:52,760 December 7th, or whatever it was, 2017. 610 00:38:52,760 --> 00:38:56,400 You became suspicious of everything and everyone. 611 00:38:56,400 --> 00:38:59,280 We were suspecting that what they were doing is, 612 00:38:59,280 --> 00:39:01,600 when they needed to show that money was there, 613 00:39:01,600 --> 00:39:04,840 they would transfer money in for one day, print out a bank statement, 614 00:39:04,840 --> 00:39:07,760 and then transfer it out to use it for other purposes. 615 00:39:12,040 --> 00:39:15,280 At the end of December 2017, the limited partners 616 00:39:15,280 --> 00:39:18,280 of the healthcare fund received their monies back. 617 00:39:22,280 --> 00:39:25,200 In January, they said, "We've already given you your money." 618 00:39:25,200 --> 00:39:27,320 But the trust had been broken from our side. 619 00:39:27,320 --> 00:39:30,040 We're going to hire forensic accountants who are going to 620 00:39:30,040 --> 00:39:33,880 look at every record of the money coming in and out. 621 00:39:33,880 --> 00:39:37,280 By that point, we had no certainty of where that money had been. 622 00:39:45,280 --> 00:39:47,040 I woke up mid-January, 623 00:39:47,040 --> 00:39:49,520 checked my emails as I did every single morning, 624 00:39:49,520 --> 00:39:53,440 I had one potentially interesting email from an anonymous address - 625 00:39:53,440 --> 00:39:56,600 WB Abraaj. So I responded to that. 626 00:39:56,600 --> 00:39:59,760 I said, "Hello. Thank you for sharing this information with me. 627 00:39:59,760 --> 00:40:03,120 "Can you please tell me who you are and why you've shared this with me?" 628 00:40:04,120 --> 00:40:07,760 Will was a colleague of mine at the Wall Street Journal at the time. 629 00:40:07,760 --> 00:40:12,280 He came over to me one day and told me that he'd received this email. 630 00:40:13,280 --> 00:40:17,360 I'd often wondered where Abraaj 631 00:40:17,360 --> 00:40:22,920 got the money to fund the conspicuous events and lifestyle 632 00:40:22,920 --> 00:40:26,320 that its senior executives seemed to lead. 633 00:40:27,320 --> 00:40:29,440 But my main feeling initially was not, 634 00:40:29,440 --> 00:40:32,760 oh, this must be true or this must be false. 635 00:40:32,760 --> 00:40:35,920 My main priority at that time is to find out - is it true or not? 636 00:40:36,920 --> 00:40:40,760 So they said, for instance, that Abraaj had asked investors 637 00:40:40,760 --> 00:40:44,280 for $200 million, which hadn't been spent 638 00:40:44,280 --> 00:40:46,920 and had been used to pay salaries instead. 639 00:40:46,920 --> 00:40:49,520 If this were true, I mean, this would have been Abraaj 640 00:40:49,520 --> 00:40:52,560 committing a kind of cardinal sin of fund management. 641 00:40:52,560 --> 00:40:55,360 So the money in private equity is supposed to be managed 642 00:40:55,360 --> 00:40:57,200 in a very disciplined way. 643 00:40:57,200 --> 00:41:00,440 If you raise a healthcare fund, you can't, you know, 644 00:41:00,440 --> 00:41:05,520 go and throw a party with that money or pay someone's salary or bonus. 645 00:41:06,760 --> 00:41:11,520 I mean, this is where trust is won or lost in finance. 646 00:41:13,040 --> 00:41:16,040 So we started to gather pieces of information. 647 00:41:16,040 --> 00:41:18,040 Off-the-record comments. 648 00:41:18,040 --> 00:41:20,040 Documents followed. 649 00:41:20,040 --> 00:41:23,800 We kept calling people, calling them back, 650 00:41:23,800 --> 00:41:25,520 calling Abraaj. 651 00:41:25,520 --> 00:41:29,520 How am I ever going to confirm without getting bank statements 652 00:41:29,520 --> 00:41:32,520 and investor reports, which are very difficult to get 653 00:41:32,520 --> 00:41:34,320 because they're confidential? 654 00:41:35,760 --> 00:41:37,760 While we're doing the reporting, 655 00:41:37,760 --> 00:41:41,680 trying to verify the information in the anonymous email, 656 00:41:41,680 --> 00:41:43,520 Arif is in Davos. 657 00:41:46,040 --> 00:41:49,040 I knew that someone was briefing against us in the press, 658 00:41:49,040 --> 00:41:53,840 and that was a coordinated exercise, but I had no idea who or what. 659 00:41:55,280 --> 00:42:00,680 Arif had arranged a meeting with two very senior executives 660 00:42:00,680 --> 00:42:02,800 at News Corp. 661 00:42:02,800 --> 00:42:06,640 He tried really hard to get them to kill our story. 662 00:42:08,520 --> 00:42:12,840 And he actually participates in a panel discussion 663 00:42:12,840 --> 00:42:16,000 with Bill Gates about global health. 664 00:42:16,000 --> 00:42:18,400 Like Bill, I'm an optimist. 665 00:42:18,400 --> 00:42:21,800 And I have to say that Bill was instrumental. 666 00:42:21,800 --> 00:42:24,000 That Bill is so focused. 667 00:42:24,000 --> 00:42:26,760 So, you know, probably, as Bill will testify... 668 00:42:28,440 --> 00:42:33,280 Arif repeatedly tries to engage Bill Gates in...in conversation. 669 00:42:33,280 --> 00:42:36,520 It's apparent that Bill Gates is trying quite hard 670 00:42:36,520 --> 00:42:39,520 to not be engaged by Arif in conversation. 671 00:42:39,520 --> 00:42:42,520 Can I just add something slightly provocative there, Bill, 672 00:42:42,520 --> 00:42:45,040 and, I don't know, maybe I'm being a bit simplistic, 673 00:42:45,040 --> 00:42:48,520 but these gold standard regulators and the drugs that are approved... 674 00:42:48,520 --> 00:42:51,320 And even for Arif to appear... If you're a fund manager 675 00:42:51,320 --> 00:42:54,680 and you're under investigation, to be able to get up on stage 676 00:42:54,680 --> 00:42:57,920 and then lecture one of the world's richest men 677 00:42:57,920 --> 00:43:01,280 really takes a lot of, erm... 678 00:43:01,280 --> 00:43:04,840 I'm not quite sure... What, confidence maybe? Courage? 679 00:43:06,040 --> 00:43:08,120 We called Abraaj for comment. 680 00:43:08,120 --> 00:43:11,960 A senior executive said it's not true 681 00:43:11,960 --> 00:43:14,360 that hundreds of millions of dollars are missing. 682 00:43:14,360 --> 00:43:16,760 Abraaj is regulated in seven jurisdictions. 683 00:43:16,760 --> 00:43:19,040 It has the highest governance standards. 684 00:43:19,040 --> 00:43:21,720 At that point, we knew investors were investigating, 685 00:43:21,720 --> 00:43:26,240 so we published the article on February 2nd 2018. 686 00:43:38,040 --> 00:43:40,800 When the two infamous articles came out, 687 00:43:40,800 --> 00:43:43,040 I got a call from Waqar saying, 688 00:43:43,040 --> 00:43:46,320 "Bisher, you know, there are two... 689 00:43:46,320 --> 00:43:50,040 "..American, quote unquote, publications, 690 00:43:50,040 --> 00:43:54,240 "They're after us, those bloody racist, erm... 691 00:43:54,240 --> 00:43:57,120 "..newspapers. They want to nail our successes." 692 00:43:57,120 --> 00:43:59,680 And then it was like an avalanche. 693 00:44:08,040 --> 00:44:09,760 After the articles came out, 694 00:44:09,760 --> 00:44:12,760 we were starting to text each other and call each other 695 00:44:12,760 --> 00:44:16,080 and literally going, "What the fuck?" I mean, "What's going on?" 696 00:44:16,080 --> 00:44:17,960 It shouldn't happen in our business. 697 00:44:17,960 --> 00:44:21,040 Drawing down and sitting on the money for a while, 698 00:44:21,040 --> 00:44:23,280 fine, you could live with it. 699 00:44:23,280 --> 00:44:25,960 But using it for another purpose? 700 00:44:26,960 --> 00:44:29,560 That's not OK. 701 00:44:29,560 --> 00:44:32,640 And this is exactly what I told Arif, I remember. 702 00:44:32,640 --> 00:44:38,040 "This is called a serious violation which needs a major change." 703 00:44:38,040 --> 00:44:40,640 He goes, "What do you mean? 704 00:44:40,640 --> 00:44:43,040 "Some heads have to roll, 705 00:44:43,040 --> 00:44:45,480 "including, potentially, yours." 706 00:44:51,960 --> 00:44:55,520 He kept on climbing down the stairs, snooping around all of us, 707 00:44:55,520 --> 00:44:57,600 trying to figure out what's going on. 708 00:44:57,600 --> 00:44:59,520 I built a wall... 709 00:44:59,520 --> 00:45:01,520 ..to block the staircase. 710 00:45:02,520 --> 00:45:04,680 Gypsum wall. You bring gypsum... 711 00:45:04,680 --> 00:45:06,320 Not me, physically. 712 00:45:06,320 --> 00:45:11,040 I was constantly reaching out to Abraaj's spokesperson 713 00:45:11,040 --> 00:45:14,400 and senior executives and to Arif. 714 00:45:14,400 --> 00:45:15,960 Everything that I said 715 00:45:15,960 --> 00:45:17,280 was being ignored. 716 00:45:17,280 --> 00:45:21,640 I sent letters and responses in writing. I sent them verbally. 717 00:45:21,640 --> 00:45:25,400 Will and I had a phone call with Arif. 718 00:45:25,400 --> 00:45:28,280 We spoke for hours. I can't remember exactly how long. 719 00:45:28,280 --> 00:45:32,280 The answers he gave to the questions we asked were not sufficient 720 00:45:32,280 --> 00:45:36,320 to make us say, "OK, well, there's nothing to see here." 721 00:45:36,320 --> 00:45:38,040 Simon and I just... 722 00:45:38,040 --> 00:45:41,000 What do we...? We literally got nothing out of that. 723 00:45:41,000 --> 00:45:44,000 He just spoke in kind of very abstract language. 724 00:45:44,000 --> 00:45:47,680 We thought that if we could meet him in person, then maybe, 725 00:45:47,680 --> 00:45:50,120 you know, you'd have a bit more engagement. 726 00:45:50,120 --> 00:45:53,480 He initially was talking about, yes, he would meet me 727 00:45:53,480 --> 00:45:56,600 to talk things through, but that meeting never happened. 728 00:45:57,600 --> 00:46:01,520 I only stopped when I realised that it didn't really matter. 729 00:46:01,520 --> 00:46:04,040 It continued to be a one-sided narrative. 730 00:46:06,040 --> 00:46:09,040 As you can imagine, a lot of the time in the office 731 00:46:09,040 --> 00:46:11,760 was spent discussing what was really going on. 732 00:46:13,720 --> 00:46:16,760 So I guess I first got really immersed in the Abraaj data 733 00:46:16,760 --> 00:46:19,280 back in early 2018 734 00:46:19,280 --> 00:46:22,360 on behalf of the Dubai Financial Services Authority - 735 00:46:22,360 --> 00:46:24,400 the local Dubai regulator. 736 00:46:29,040 --> 00:46:32,760 The data for the regulator is still downloading in the mailboxes 737 00:46:32,760 --> 00:46:35,080 and this partner appears in my office. 738 00:46:36,080 --> 00:46:38,920 It felt like he was shouting blue murder, saying, 739 00:46:38,920 --> 00:46:41,680 "You must stop now. Stop what you're doing now. 740 00:46:41,680 --> 00:46:45,000 "Arif doesn't want anybody else to see his information." 741 00:46:50,160 --> 00:46:52,520 Then the news on Fund IV comes up. 742 00:46:54,760 --> 00:46:57,920 But, again, investors are asking, 743 00:46:57,920 --> 00:47:00,280 "Where is the money? Where is the money?" 744 00:47:01,280 --> 00:47:03,520 The money was not there. 745 00:47:03,520 --> 00:47:06,040 So the guy says, "So what is this?" 746 00:47:10,760 --> 00:47:12,680 The potential... 747 00:47:14,040 --> 00:47:18,760 ..unauthorised drawings of 300 million plus 748 00:47:18,760 --> 00:47:21,040 to Arif-controlled vehicles 749 00:47:21,040 --> 00:47:25,080 I still find substantially astounding. 750 00:47:26,760 --> 00:47:28,760 So, I'm an auditor by training. 751 00:47:28,760 --> 00:47:31,520 I remember, literally, my jaw dropped 752 00:47:31,520 --> 00:47:35,360 when the guys showed me the download from Arif's ledger. 753 00:47:35,360 --> 00:47:40,040 It's not only of the quantity of money that was withdrawn 754 00:47:40,040 --> 00:47:42,280 but also from the level of details. 755 00:47:42,280 --> 00:47:44,680 From a shoeshine of 20 drams, 756 00:47:44,680 --> 00:47:50,040 all the way to the transfers to him or his companies 757 00:47:50,040 --> 00:47:52,200 of tens of millions of dollars. 758 00:47:52,200 --> 00:47:56,000 I have never stolen money from anyone. 759 00:48:02,600 --> 00:48:06,680 Transfers would be made to the same vehicle controlled by Arif - 760 00:48:06,680 --> 00:48:09,040 a company called Silverline Holdings, 761 00:48:09,040 --> 00:48:11,800 sometimes frequently in the same week. 762 00:48:11,800 --> 00:48:16,280 Money was being taken in and used for these corporate expenses 763 00:48:16,280 --> 00:48:20,120 and for personal gain when it was so tight. 764 00:48:20,120 --> 00:48:24,040 Right? So tight. And investor money couldn't be given back 765 00:48:24,040 --> 00:48:26,040 or investments couldn't be made. 766 00:48:26,040 --> 00:48:29,760 That's fundamentally what I still find, I guess, 767 00:48:29,760 --> 00:48:32,280 the most shocking about the Abraaj story. 768 00:48:38,520 --> 00:48:42,520 There was a hole to be filled of around $200 million. 769 00:48:42,520 --> 00:48:45,440 The money that plugged the hole for the healthcare fund 770 00:48:45,440 --> 00:48:47,280 came from Air Arabia. 771 00:48:47,280 --> 00:48:49,720 Arif was on the board of that company as well. 772 00:48:49,720 --> 00:48:52,120 An arrangement was struck with Air Arabia 773 00:48:52,120 --> 00:48:55,040 to place a short-term deposit with Abraaj. 774 00:48:55,040 --> 00:48:57,280 200 million was taken in. 775 00:48:58,280 --> 00:49:01,280 And our audited report said we had the money. 776 00:49:01,280 --> 00:49:04,760 It was then transferred directly from the fund bank account 777 00:49:04,760 --> 00:49:06,360 back to Air Arabia. 778 00:49:06,360 --> 00:49:08,760 In accounting and auditing standards, 779 00:49:08,760 --> 00:49:12,760 this is what we call typically window-dressing, right? 780 00:49:12,760 --> 00:49:15,760 You dress the window for a certain occasion 781 00:49:15,760 --> 00:49:17,880 and then you strip it down. 782 00:49:17,880 --> 00:49:20,120 And I met with the auditors. 783 00:49:20,120 --> 00:49:23,800 And they are KPMG, just to make things clear. 784 00:49:23,800 --> 00:49:26,840 I told them, in my book or in anyone's book, 785 00:49:26,840 --> 00:49:28,840 this is gross negligence. 786 00:49:29,840 --> 00:49:32,760 It was a machine... 787 00:49:34,520 --> 00:49:38,520 ..designed to defraud people. 788 00:49:41,400 --> 00:49:43,520 Who designed that machine? 789 00:49:43,520 --> 00:49:45,880 Who do you think? I mean... 790 00:49:45,880 --> 00:49:50,040 He borrowed money from airlines, banks, people. 791 00:49:50,040 --> 00:49:54,120 One of the lenders, they said, "We want our money back." 792 00:49:54,120 --> 00:49:57,520 So Arif's yacht is put up for sale. 793 00:49:57,520 --> 00:50:00,040 Various properties he owns. 794 00:50:00,040 --> 00:50:03,040 Creditors wanted to be repaid. 795 00:50:03,040 --> 00:50:07,280 Abraaj couldn't repay them, so that's what triggered Abraaj 796 00:50:07,280 --> 00:50:10,240 having to file for provisional liquidation. 797 00:50:10,240 --> 00:50:14,280 We'd grown fast, yeah, but we were destroyed even faster. 798 00:50:15,280 --> 00:50:18,360 Anonymous emails, negative news articles, 799 00:50:18,360 --> 00:50:21,040 they forced us into a civil liquidation process. 800 00:50:21,040 --> 00:50:24,040 The only thing you have in a business 801 00:50:24,040 --> 00:50:26,520 in the world of finance is your reputation. 802 00:50:26,520 --> 00:50:29,760 When that's gone, nothing else can really survive. 803 00:50:36,400 --> 00:50:39,520 The corporate response was, nothing to see here. 804 00:50:39,520 --> 00:50:44,520 No involvement or fraud from either Arif or a wider Abraaj perspective. 805 00:50:50,200 --> 00:50:54,040 I'm spending most of my time on this story. 806 00:50:54,040 --> 00:50:56,680 What has happened here is not public. 807 00:50:58,040 --> 00:51:01,680 No-one ever found out who sent those anonymous emails, 808 00:51:01,680 --> 00:51:06,120 so we were looking for sources that could verify what the emails said. 809 00:51:06,120 --> 00:51:10,760 Simon found a new source who might have bank statements. 810 00:51:10,760 --> 00:51:15,400 And I've probably reviewed 80%, 85% of the records that exist 811 00:51:15,400 --> 00:51:17,280 for thousands of hours. 812 00:51:18,520 --> 00:51:24,360 Immersed in looking at the data and finding new things what felt daily, 813 00:51:24,360 --> 00:51:27,520 I was very fearful of speaking to anybody in the media. 814 00:51:36,280 --> 00:51:38,440 I remember literally trembling. 815 00:51:40,040 --> 00:51:43,320 The atmosphere was very tense because there was a lot at stake. 816 00:51:43,320 --> 00:51:45,440 You had to put in quite a lot of work 817 00:51:45,440 --> 00:51:47,840 for the first half an hour to calm me down. 818 00:51:47,840 --> 00:51:50,080 I remember you consistently asking me, 819 00:51:50,080 --> 00:51:52,960 "Can I have a copy of that? Can I have a copy of that?" 820 00:51:52,960 --> 00:51:55,120 There had been lots of rumour and hearsay, 821 00:51:55,120 --> 00:51:57,920 that's one thing, but actually seeing the evidence 822 00:51:57,920 --> 00:51:59,800 is something else altogether. 823 00:51:59,800 --> 00:52:03,040 I wouldn't say that I slept properly again for... 824 00:52:04,040 --> 00:52:05,840 ..a good year or two. 825 00:52:09,520 --> 00:52:13,040 All this information went into the investigative feature. 826 00:52:20,480 --> 00:52:25,760 That meeting that Simon had with his source was crucial. 827 00:52:26,760 --> 00:52:30,280 I think that really elevates the story from being a badly run company 828 00:52:30,280 --> 00:52:34,880 to someone taking lots of money that you're not necessarily entitled to. 829 00:52:35,880 --> 00:52:41,320 Yes, private equity can help solve some of humanity's biggest problems. 830 00:52:41,320 --> 00:52:44,960 But in the Abraaj story, I was presented with a lot of evidence 831 00:52:44,960 --> 00:52:49,040 that it wasn't solving problems, it was making problems. 832 00:53:04,480 --> 00:53:09,360 We had written the story in October 2018 and nothing had happened. 833 00:53:09,360 --> 00:53:13,760 We're hearing various rumours about Arif being in Pakistan 834 00:53:13,760 --> 00:53:15,760 meeting with Imran Khan. 835 00:53:17,280 --> 00:53:19,280 I was Prime Minister then. 836 00:53:19,280 --> 00:53:24,040 I began to realise that there were some problems taking place 837 00:53:24,040 --> 00:53:28,440 and I, of course, heard about these problems from Arif's point of view. 838 00:53:28,440 --> 00:53:30,280 Is this how finance works? 839 00:53:30,280 --> 00:53:34,040 Someone can basically just allegedly take a lot of money 840 00:53:34,040 --> 00:53:36,400 and then nothing happens to them? 841 00:53:36,400 --> 00:53:40,040 We didn't know that the US Department of Justice 842 00:53:40,040 --> 00:53:43,120 was preparing to pounce. 843 00:53:43,120 --> 00:53:45,920 We got the shock of our lives when we found 844 00:53:45,920 --> 00:53:48,400 that he had been arrested at Heathrow. 845 00:53:48,400 --> 00:53:53,320 I was shocked with the US response. 846 00:54:10,520 --> 00:54:14,440 The charges add up to 291 years in jail. 847 00:54:14,440 --> 00:54:18,960 The US Government did not want him to be granted bail. 848 00:54:18,960 --> 00:54:21,800 His initial requests were rejected 849 00:54:21,800 --> 00:54:26,880 until he offered £15 million, 850 00:54:26,880 --> 00:54:29,360 which at the time was the highest bail bond 851 00:54:29,360 --> 00:54:31,280 ever requested and granted. 852 00:54:32,280 --> 00:54:34,680 With the benefit of hindsight, 853 00:54:34,680 --> 00:54:37,280 one always has 20/20 vision, right? 854 00:54:37,280 --> 00:54:40,040 Would you do some things differently? Of course you would. 855 00:54:40,040 --> 00:54:43,120 Would you have different people around you? Of course you would. 856 00:54:43,120 --> 00:54:46,280 But to be told that I masterminded a criminal conspiracy 857 00:54:46,280 --> 00:54:48,520 and enterprise, that's just wrong, 858 00:54:48,520 --> 00:54:53,200 and I categorically claim my innocence from those charges. 859 00:54:58,040 --> 00:54:59,920 I think criminal intent 860 00:54:59,920 --> 00:55:02,760 is the most difficult thing to prove in a court of law. 861 00:55:02,760 --> 00:55:06,440 I'm still hoping, as I say, that Arif has a last deal in him. 862 00:55:06,440 --> 00:55:10,400 He is a deal-maker and I hope he does it. 863 00:55:10,400 --> 00:55:15,760 Since lawyers want to keep the whole truth part for a legal podium, 864 00:55:15,760 --> 00:55:19,360 but it'll certainly come out and certainly come out over time. 865 00:55:19,360 --> 00:55:22,040 At this point in time, where I find myself 866 00:55:22,040 --> 00:55:25,040 is that fear is feeding the anger. 867 00:55:25,040 --> 00:55:27,280 Now my anger sits with me. 868 00:55:27,280 --> 00:55:29,440 My fear sits with me. 869 00:55:29,440 --> 00:55:31,440 It sits on... 870 00:55:32,440 --> 00:55:35,040 ..my sofa, my bedroom... 871 00:55:35,040 --> 00:55:38,040 My ankle bracelet is a constant reminder 872 00:55:38,040 --> 00:55:40,040 that I'm facing extradition. 873 00:55:51,040 --> 00:55:54,280 We can talk about Arif Naqvi as long as we want. 874 00:55:54,280 --> 00:55:58,160 Hopefully he'll get whatever he deserves to get. 875 00:55:58,160 --> 00:56:00,480 But it wasn't him alone. 876 00:56:01,480 --> 00:56:04,600 His board of directors, you know... 877 00:56:04,600 --> 00:56:06,520 ..where the fuck were you? 878 00:56:07,520 --> 00:56:09,360 You know? Because, ultimately... 879 00:56:09,360 --> 00:56:11,680 I mean, I'm surprised they haven't been sued. 880 00:56:11,680 --> 00:56:13,600 I would sue them if I'd lost money. 881 00:56:13,600 --> 00:56:17,400 Without the enabling elements that surrounded him, 882 00:56:17,400 --> 00:56:20,040 it wouldn't have been possible. 883 00:57:01,640 --> 00:57:04,680 I'm one of those creditors. I almost say it like I'm proud... 884 00:57:04,680 --> 00:57:07,000 I'm one of those creditors. Isn't that cool? 885 00:57:12,760 --> 00:57:16,280 The real tragedy of what happened in Abraaj is that hundreds of millions 886 00:57:16,280 --> 00:57:19,040 of dollars that would have otherwise gone to building 887 00:57:19,040 --> 00:57:22,520 healthcare facilities that could have a huge impact in the world 888 00:57:22,520 --> 00:57:27,560 were lost or wasted on lawyers unravelling the mess of Abraaj. 889 00:57:28,560 --> 00:57:32,160 When CEOs are building something, 890 00:57:32,160 --> 00:57:35,760 they can be very public about what they're going to achieve. 891 00:57:35,760 --> 00:57:39,280 When things collapse, the truth disappears 892 00:57:39,280 --> 00:57:42,480 unless journalists dig it out. 893 00:57:42,480 --> 00:57:45,280 Financial firms usually are just in the business of saying 894 00:57:45,280 --> 00:57:47,040 they'll make investors rich. 895 00:57:47,040 --> 00:57:50,320 Abraaj was in the business of saying it could make investors rich 896 00:57:50,320 --> 00:57:52,560 and help end poverty. 897 00:57:53,560 --> 00:57:57,520 But the bigger the promise, the more responsibility they're taking on. 898 00:57:58,520 --> 00:58:00,760 I know what I've done in my life 899 00:58:00,760 --> 00:58:04,280 but, more importantly, I know what I've not done in my life. 900 00:58:04,280 --> 00:58:10,040 And I am crystal clear in front of my Maker 901 00:58:10,040 --> 00:58:14,760 that I have never committed an intentional act of criminality, 902 00:58:14,760 --> 00:58:19,280 nor was I aware of any actions that could have been perceived as such. 903 00:58:31,040 --> 00:58:34,320 If you permit me... This is emotional. 904 00:58:34,320 --> 00:58:36,000 Thank you.