
Public Prosecution Issues No-Grounds Order in Multi-Billion-Dirham Criminal Complaint
Galadari’s defence team successfully secured a decision to dismiss a high-value criminal complaint exceeding AED 15 billion, filed against a former director of a Dubai-based energy and trading company, accused of breach of trust and embezzlement.
In the initial stages of the investigation, there was a clear inclination to recharacterize the alleged acts as money laundering, with the Public Prosecution exploring theories involving suspicious financial transfers and illicit assets. However, through rigorous legal and technical analysis, the defence team successfully refuted these claims, demonstrating the full legitimacy of all financial transactions conducted during the management period.
The defence demonstrated that the complaint was founded on a forensic accounting report that was entirely discredited, as it relied on deliberately manipulated accounting extracts. These extracts omitted numerous legitimate transactions and disregarded official invoices and supporting documentation, clearly aiming to mislead the investigating authorities and fabricate a false financial narrative. The defence financial experts conducted a meticulous analysis of the report, uncovering multiple instances of forensic and accounting manipulation.
It was conclusively established that the complainant lacked any legal capacity or shareholding in the parent company of the entity subject to the complaint. The documents submitted by the complainant were without legal effect under the applicable laws of the parent company’s home jurisdiction, which governs share ownership transfer and registration. This legal position was further substantiated by duly certified official documents issued by the competent judicial and administrative authorities in that jurisdiction, confirming that ownership of the parent company remained unchanged and that the complainant had no legal standing in relation to it.
Galadari team comprised specialists with expertise across multiple disciplines, including criminal and commercial litigation, corporate law, securities regulation, and energy contracts. Working in close coordination, the team conducted a thorough review of all relevant documents, contracts, and financial records, and delivered a comparative legal analysis of the applicable laws in the UAE and the parent company’s jurisdiction.
As a result of this coordinated and expertise effort, it was established that all disputed transactions were lawful, properly approved by the parent company’s board of directors, and that the former director had been formally discharged of liability for the entirety of his tenure. Consequently, the Public Prosecution issued a decision to dismiss the criminal complaint, concluding that the legal elements of the alleged offenses were unavailable and that there was no basis for further legal action.
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Abdulla Ziad Galadari
Senior Partner abdulla@galadarilaw.com |