The CEO and managing director of the local/Australian contractor Habtoor Leighton Group (HLG) José Antonio Lopez-Monis has been released from custody in Dubai.

In an email to the company on 25 August, HLG chairman Riad Sadik said Lopez-Monis has been released and has not been charged with any offence, adding that he will be returning to work and company operations continue as normal.

Cimic said in a statement on the Australian Securities Exchage (ASX) on 18 August: “As a result of a complaint filed with police in Dubai, the CEO and managing director of HLG, José Antonio López-Monís, was arrested after market close on Wednesday, 17 August.”

Lopez-Monis joined HLG in 2012.