Dubai Court Sentences Nigerian Oil Tycoon To Prison For Financial Crimes
A Dubai court has sentenced Abdulrahman Bashar, the owner of Rahamaniyya Group and Ultimate Oil & Gas, to one year in prison for financial misconduct involving CI Energy Company.
This marks Bashar’s second jail sentence in less than five years. In 2020, a UK court sentenced him to ten months in prison for violating court orders in a case involving Sahara Energy Resources.
According to court documents obtained by Premium Times, the UAE court delivered its verdict on January 30, 2025. Despite being duly notified, Bashar failed to appear in court.
UAE prosecutors charged him for:
- Issuing seven cheques worth 126.45 million dirhams from an Emirates Islamic Bank account with a signature mismatch, rendering them invalid.
- Deliberately signing the cheques in a way that prevented them from being cashed.
Presided over by Judge Hussein Hamdi, the court ruled that the crime was established as soon as Bashar handed over the cheques, knowing that there were no available funds. CI Energy’s agent, Jamal Awad Nasser Hussein, provided evidence, including copies of the cheques and account statements, confirming Bashar’s wrongdoing.
His defence arguments were dismissed as an attempt to evade punishment.
The court also referred a related civil compensation claim to a civil court for further proceedings.
In February 2020, Justice Butcher of the England and Wales High Court sentenced Bashar to ten months in prison for repeatedly disobeying court orders.
The case, initiated by Sahara Energy Resources, involved Rahamaniyya Oil & Gas’ failure to supply 6,400.49 metric tonnes of gas as agreed.
Additionally, Rahamaniyya Oil & Gas was fined , and its manager, Adebowale Aderemi, was ordered to pay a penalty.
This latest conviction further tarnishes Bashar’s record, highlighting his history of financial misconduct across multiple jurisdictions.
