Maan al-Sanea: Once richest man in world, now behind the bars for debt

Riyadh, Sep 17: Maan al-Sanea, a Saudi Arabia national, who was once in the world's 100 richest people list has been fighting Saudi Arabia's longest-running debt dispute, and finally, Saudi Arabia has decided to auction real estate owned by the billionaire.

Sanea, ranked by Forbes in 2007 as one of the world's 100 richest people, was detained last year for unpaid debts dating back to 2009 when his company, Saad Group, defaulted.

In what was Saudi Arabia's longest-running debt dispute, creditors have spent the past nine years pursuing Saad Group, which is based in the Eastern Province, for debt repayment.

Etqaan Alliance, the consortium appointed late last year by a three-judge tribunal to resolve Saad's debt dispute, will sell the assets over five months at auctions in the Eastern Province, Riyadh and Jeddah

In March, Etqaan launched the first phase of the auction with around 900 vehicles owned by Saad Group, including trucks, buses, diggers, forklift trucks and golf carts.

In what was Saudi Arabia's longest-running debt dispute, creditors have spent the past nine years pursuing Saad Group, which is based in the Eastern Province, for debt repayment. It is unclear whether Sanea, who remains in detention, will be released after his assets are sold.

Saad Group, with interests spanning banking to healthcare, defaulted together with Ahmad Hamad al-Gosaibi and Brothers (AHAB) in 2009, leaving banks with unpaid debt of about $22 billion in what was Saudi Arabia's biggest financial meltdown.