WHAT IS THE SENSATIONAL CASE ABOUT?

The first aspect of RAK Investment Authority’s (Rakia) claim against US-Iranian arms dealer Farhad Azima dates back to 2011 and his role in the acquisition of the Sheraton Metechi Palace Hotel in Tbilisi from Rakia. The $62.5 million buyout was made through his company, Eurasia Hotel Holdings Ltd, with an agreement made with Rakia Georgia. However, the deal was quickly shrouded in secrecy as the contract was made with the former-CEO of Rakia and convicted suspect, Dr Khater Massaad.

With Massaad and Azima central to the transaction, the two were allegedly able to manipulate the deal with ‘secret commissions’ and bribes, with Azima receiving a 10 per cent interest in the hotel worth $6.25million for a mere nominal fee of $10 and Massaad receiving a bribe of $500,000 for his facilitation of the fraud.

Following the uncovering of these transactions, it has come to light that Azima proposed to Rakia in late 2015 a joint venture to buy military aircraft valued at $52 million. It was proposed that the joint venture company would be called GDS Middle East with Azima’s majority-owned GDS owning 60 per cent and Rakia owning 40 per cent.

However, much like the Sheraton Hotel deal, it became apparent that things were not what they seemed for Rakia. The alleged value of the aircraft of $52 million, of which Rakia would contribute $21 million, was more like $6 million. Yet the deception did not stop there. In an attempt to seal the hollow deal, Farhad Azima sought to take advantage of his US Government connections by falsely posing them as the ultimate customer and forging US Government documents.