The court case between Saudi Arabia’s Ahmad Hamad al-Gosaibi & Brothers (AHAB) and the Saad Group begins on 18 July in the Cayman Islands Grand Court.

AHAB alleges Maan al-Sanea, owner of the Saad Group, appropriated billions of dollars while running the Bahrain-based International Banking Corporation (TIBC) on behalf of the Saudi family business. He is accused of channelling more than $9bn to entities in the Cayman Islands.

Al-Sanea has denied any wrongdoing.

AH al-Gosaibi and the Saad Group defaulted on at least $15.7bn of debt in 2009 leaving more than 113 financial institutions across the Gulf, Europe and US exposed.

It is one of the biggest corporate defaults in the Middle East to date, and the source of multiple court cases in Saudi Arabia and globally.

Creditors rejected a 2009 debt settlement deal from AHAB.

AHAB and a steering committee, made up of five major creditors, presented detailed terms of a new agreement to financial institutions in January 2016. This offered up to $0.50 on the dollar based on recoveries from the Saad Group through litigation.

It also invited claimants to enter into a process to agree the amounts of their claims. These will be presented to the judicial authorities in Saudi Arabia together with the settlement agreement. 

AHAB secured a $2.5bn judgement against al-Sanea in 2012 which it is seeking to enforce. It is now suing for a further $7.3bn, according to local Cayman Reporter, while a group of liquidators for the Saad Group is countersuing for $6bn.

The case will be presided over by Chief Justice Anthony Smellie, who ruled in favour of AHAB in 2012.