Saad Group legal battle reaches turning point

(Reuters): Maan Al-Sanea, the founder of Saudi Arabia's Saad Group, has seen a UK court lift a freezing order on $9.2 billion worth of his assets in what his legal team called a "significant turning point" in a bitter legal battle with his in-laws. The move by London's High Court, which follows a similar order by a Cayman court two weeks ago, leaves Al-Sanea free to claim what is expected to amount to several millions of pounds worth of legal costs as well as damages from the Algosaibi family, a London-based spokesman said.

"The lifting of the freezing injunctions obtained by the Algosaibis against Mr Al-Sanea — both in the Cayman Islands and now in England — marks a significant turning point in the litigation between the parties," said Louis Castellani, a lawyer at Harbottle & Lewis, who represents Al-Sanea in London.

The Algosaibis' main lawyer, Eric Lewis, said the family would continue to pursue a fraud claim against Al-Sanea in the Cayman Islands and litigation in Saudi Arabia, as well as continuing to cooperate with investigations in the United States, Switzerland and Bahrain.

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