Saad says no documents found after police request

Saad Financial Services SA said on Tuesday police had requested documents of transactions between the company and Saudi conglomerate Ahmad Hamad Algosaibi & Bros. (AHAB) but it believed there were no such documents.

A spokeswoman for Geneva-based Saad Financial said police had visited company offices with a request for delivery of the documents but had not conducted a search of the premises.

"Police came to our offices two weeks ago on Monday and showed us an order for the delivery of documents concerning Saad Financial and Algosaibi, if these exist. We don't believe we have any documents responsive to this order and have informed the fiscal police accordingly," the spokeswoman said.

She said Saad Financial had since requested clarification of the order, originally delivered in French and translated into English by a bilingual lawyer, but had not yet received a response from the police.

The spokeswoman said Saad Financial provides trade execution services for offshore entities of the Saudi-based conglomerate Saad Group.

"There is no decision-making process, we receive instructions from Saad offshore entities and execute them," she said.

The police request comes against the backdrop of a continuing dispute between embattled Saudi family conglomerate AHAB and Saad. AHAB has accused Saad of allegedly using AHAB assets to back loans to Saad.

Legal sources told Reuters that prosecutors were investigating the transfer of some $9.2 billion of AHAB assets to the benefit of the Saad group and the role of the latter's Geneva-based subsidiary Saad Financial in the matter.

The sources said this is closely tied to a case launched in July when a Cayman Islands court froze $9.2 billion in Saad assets, and three foreign banks - Barclays Bank, Calyon and Royal Bank of Scotland - petitioned the court to wind up a local Saad unit.

Rodolphe Gautier of law firm Baker McKenzie, who is acting on behalf of AHAB, told Reuters that a complaint has been lodged concerning Saad Group owner Maan al-Sanea and the group itself, but declined to comment further.

Police and prosecutors declined to comment and the Alghosaibi group did not return emails requesting clarification.

Legal sources also said the police's original delivery order was likely to be extended to include documents held by Saad Financial pertaining to transactions between all companies in the Saad and AHAB groups.

"We leave it to the authorities to proceed as they deem necessary and appropriate," said Gautier.

AHAG, whose concerns span financial services, real estate, shipping, manufacturing, media and other industries is undergoing restructuring after a default at its Bahrain subsidiary, The International Banking Corp (TIBC), in May.

The group said on June 11 that a review of operations had in its early stages uncovered evidence of substantial financial irregularities at its own financial services arm.

Also in May, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority was reported to have frozen the assets of al-Sanea.

In July, AHAB sued al-Sanea over allegations of $10 billion in loan irregularities, according to US court documents.

In the same month Bahrain's central bank said it had assumed control of TIBC and of Saad subsidiary Awal Bank. (Reuters)

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