Societe Generale Sues Saad Group in London for $50 Million Debt

DUBAI — Societe Generale SA, France’s second-largest bank by market value, sued a unit of Saad Group, owned by Maan Al Sanea, a billionaire accused of falsifying documents to obtain $10 billion in funds for his personal use.

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Published: Thu 17 Sep 2009, 10:58 PM

Last updated: Sun 5 Apr 2015, 10:02 PM

The complaint was filed at the High Court in London last month against Saad Trading Contracting & Financial Services Co., and released by the tribunal in part yesterday.

Societe Generale claims Saad Trading hasn’t been paid back for a $50 million loan arranged in February and guaranteed by Al Sanea. It’s seeking return of the money plus a commission and legal costs, according to the suit.

Saad Group said in June that it was planning an ‘orderly restructuring’ of its debt after a ‘short-term liquidity squeeze.’ The same day, Moody’s Investors Service withdrew its ratings for Saad Group, citing a lack of information. A spokesman for Saad Group, which includes Saad Trading, Saad Investment Co., and Bahrain-based Awal Bank, in London declined to comment when contacted by Bloomberg News.

Mashreqbank Exposure

Meanwhile, Mashreqbank PSC, the lender owned by billionaire Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair, said it has an exposure of about $400 million to Ahmad Hamad Algosaibi & Brothers. The figure includes $225 million of foreign exchange transactions as well as syndicated loans and bilateral facilities, the Dubai-based bank said in an e-mailed statement on Wednesday. Algosaibi ‘defaulted in violation of its agreements with Mashreq,’ it said. The bank has filed a suit against the Al gosaibi group in New York.

Bloomberg


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