Ex-Leeds United and GFH Capital general counsel David Haigh has been found guilty of embezzlement and breach of trust in Dubai and sentenced to two years’ imprisonment.
Haigh’s sentence includes time served and he will be released in November, having spent 13 months in prison in Dubai before he was officially charged in June.
A spokesperson for Haigh told The Lawyer: “David continues to maintain his innocence and has entered an appeal with the Dubai criminal court. The appeal is scheduled to be heard at the beginning of October.”
Haigh was arrested on 18 May 2014 when his former employers Gulf Finance House Capital (GFH) accused him of committing fraud, embezzlement and money laundering when he was employed by the Bahrain-based bank.
GFH’s lawyers Gibson Dunn & Crutcher successfully obtained a worldwide freezing order against Haigh’s assets in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) last year, following claims he falsified £3m of invoices in connection with the sale of Leeds United. The freezing order remains in place.
Haigh was general counsel for GFH Capital, which bought Leeds United in 2012, before selling a majority stake last year.
Haigh was represented by Dubai lawyer Michel Chalhoub in the four hearings leading up to his conviction after his lawyers, Stephenson Harwood, came off the record due to more than £1m in unpaid legal fees.
He was previously represented by Stephenson Harwood Dubai managing partner Rovine Chadrasekera and Olswang partner Bernard O’Sullivan, as well as local firm Nasser Malalla.
Haigh’s current counsel in the UK, Great James Street’s Alun Jones QC, is representing him in proceedings launched in April accusing two GFH heads, Hisham Al Rayes and Jinesh Patel, and ex-Gibson Dunn partner Peter Gray, of engaging in human trafficking to lure him to Dubai where he was jailed.
The claims were dismissed in the West London Magistrates’ Court in June, though Haigh is understood to be pursuing other legal channels to bring his claim before the Director of Public Prosecutions.