Dubai Trading Agency LLC- British High Court Ruling Exposes Dark Side of Muhammad Tahir Lakhani
Muhammad Tahir Lakhani , Ali Muhammad Lakhani and Hasan Muhammad Lakhani
On October 5th 2020, the British High Court of Justice dispensed a harsh judgment against , Muhammad Tahir Lakhani and his two sons, Ali Muhammad Lakhani and Hasan Muhammad Lakhani for reneging on an a multi-million USD investment deal that Dubai Trading Agency (owned by all three Lakhani's) with the American private equity management firm Yield Street Management LLC. In simple terms all three of the Lakhani's (the father Muhammad and sons Ali and Hasan), under an umbrella of companies owned by the Dubai Trading Agency ('DTA'), a company in the UAE formed by Muhammed in 1985, had received a series of commercial loans from Yield Street Management ('YSM') in 2018 and 2019 totaling over 74.6 Million USD. The funds were to be utilized by DTA (and its sister companies) to purchase disused naval vessels and discounted rates and convert them to either scrap or refurbishment for reselling purposes that are very profitable (DTA is primarily in the ‘Ship Recycling’ business). The Lakhani's never purchased any of the naval vessels, defaulted on the loans, and in layman terms 'ripped off' YSM and its respective investors.
The High Court of Justice, under the authority of Mr. Justice Jacobs, was ruling on a summary judgment on the case as well as World Freezing Orders ('WFO's') that YSM had successfully lodged against the Lakhani's bank accounts in the UK and globally in a previous High Court of Justice judgment in April 2020. Both Ali and Hasan Lakhani claimed that they were duped by their father Muhammad into signing personal guarantees (which is common in naval commercial transactions) for the 74.6 million USD in loans that DTA and its related companies received. Justice Jacobs ruled in favor of YSM and lambasted both Ali and Hasan Lakhani for their claims of ignorance that they were both unaware of their father's actions in the case. Jacob's ruling stated that Ali and Hasan's claims "..carries no degree of conviction at all. Both sons were well-educated and had taken business degree courses.." and are "well-educated individuals . . . and in whom their father had sufficient confidence to vest the entire ownership of the ship recycling business in order to accomplish family succession."
The highly dubious business practices of Muhammad Tahir Lakhani were outlined by Justice Jacobs when he wrote in his judgment that "none of the Defendants (Tahir, Ali, and Hassan) had served any evidence or advanced any argument disputing the facts relating to the underlying fraud on which the Claimants (Yieldstreet) relied. . . the evidence as to these frauds was, and remains, strong and undisputed."
The question that comes to mind is how on earth were Muhammad Tahir Lakhani and his sons Ali and Hasan able to secure this multi-million USD loan from YSM? The answer is that another US based consulting firm Four Wood Capital Partners recommended the Lakhani's to YSM (that case is also under litigation in the US courts).
Surprisingly, Muhammad Tahir Lakhani and his sons continue to operate brazenly and openly in the UAE and other international locations after despite having Yield Street Management for over 74 million USD. As was noted by Justice Jacobs, Lakhani and his sons Ali and Hasan have a litany of shell corporations and companies located in worldwide. These companies owned by the Lakhani's include Dubai Trading Agency, North Star Maritime Holdings Ltd, Dubai Navigation Corp. and Gulfstar SA which was described in Jacob's judgment as the 'commercial arm' of the group. Further research and the high court ruling have confirmed that the fraudulent activities of Muhammad Tahir Lakhani are supported by banks and companies in London, Monaco, New York, Dubai and other international financial hubs.
Efforts to get Muhammad Tahir Lakhani and his sons Ali and Hasan to comment on this article were ignored by them. In the meantime, this publication highly advises all investors and potential business collaborators of Dubai Trading Agency LLC to be aware that this company (and its other sister companies listed in this article above) are fully engaged in fraudulent commercial deals. Considering the recent British High Court ruling that confirmed the criminal nature of the Lakhani family, it would be extremely high risk for any person or company to do any business with them at all.