The ruling marks the second time Abdulrahman Bashar would be sentenced to jail in less than five years.

by Ronald Adamolekun





A Dubai court has sentenced the owner of Rahmaniya Group and Ultimate Oil & Gas, Abdulrahman Bashar to one year in prison for a financial crime involving his dealings with CI Energy Company, an oil and gas firm.

The ruling marks the second time in less than five years that Abdulrahman Bashar would be sentenced to jail, the first being a ten-month imprisonment declared against him by a UK court in 2020.

According to court documents seen by PREMIUM TIMES, the UAE court gave the verdict on 30 January 2025 even as Mr Bashar, 48, failed to show up for trial despite being notified.

The public prosecution in the UAE charged the businessman for issuing seven cheques with a combined value of 126.45 million dirhams, drawn on an Emirates Islamic Bank account with a mismatch in his signature.

The prosecution accused the Nigerian billionaire of issuing the cheques by “deliberately signing and drafting them in a way that prevents their cashing,” consequently asking that Mr Bashar be punished under extant laws.

The court, relying on evidence presented to it, including statements by Jamal Awad Nasser Hussein (the agent of CI Energy), duplicates of the cheques and statements of account, noted that the cheques were returned unpaid on presentation at Emirates Islamic Bank because of disparity in Mr Bashar’s signature.

“It is established that the crime of issuing a cheque is realised merely by giving the cheque to the beneficiary knowing that there is no balance available for withdrawal,” the court said during the proceeding led by Jugde Hussein Hamdi.

“The court sees from the examination of the documents that the incident within the scope of what it has extracted in the aforementioned manner is sufficiently established against the accused to convict him,” it added.

It remarked that the defence attempted to question the evidences presented against it as a ploy to convince the court to disregard them, adding that the accused’s denial of the charge was intended to avert punishment.

To avoid delay in justice delivery, the court chose to refer a civil case filed by the prosecution for compensation to a competent civil court since the claims require a special investigation.


The businessman’s previous record

Justice Butcher of England and Wales High Court, in a verdict issued in February 2020, sentenced Mr Bashar to a jail term of ten months for flouting several orders of the court in a case initiated by Sahara Energy Resources. is “punished,” not “published.” (Here is the hyperlink)

“The basis of the sentence was that Mr Bashir had committed continuing breaches of the order of Mr Justice Robin Knowles of 1 August 2019 and of the order of Mr Justice Bryan of 6 September 2019,” Justice Butcher said.

The orders required Rahmaniya Oil and Gas to honour the request for supply of 6,400.49 metric tonnes of gas to Sahara Energy Resources or its agent.

Instead, Abdulrahman Bashar failed to “allow or procure Rahmaniya Oil and Gas Limited or its servants or agents to allow the release of the said gas oil from the terminal,” according to court documents obtained by PREMIUM TIMES.

The court issued a binding indication that the term could be commuted to six months if he abided with the previous court order that he disregarded.

Rahmaniya was fined £500,000, while Adebowale Aderemi, the manager of the company, was asked to pay a penalty of £10,000.


Who is Abdulrahman Bashar?

According to information on his company website, Abdulrahman Bashar is chair of Ultimate Oil and Gas DMCC. He is also managing director and chief executive officer of Rahamaniyya Group of Companies, Nigeria. His companies are engaged in the trading, supplying, and distributing of African crude and oil products, from which the billionaire has amassed a huge fortune.

“Through Rahamaniyya group, Alhaji (Abdulrahman Bashar) now directs a diversified conglomerate consisting of business outfits operating in various sectors of the economy across Africa, Europe, South Asia, and the Middle east: making the most of his vast experience in oil and gas exploration, marketing, distribution of petroleum products and haulage,” his profile on his company website further said.

https://www.premiumtimesng.com/business/business-news/772975-exclusive-nigerian-billionaire-businessman-jailed-in-dubai.html

MasterJayJay:
Cowards rushing to insult the Igbo people cos they thought the criminal is Igbo, will now crawl back into their holes.

Hmm.......with this comment of your's what you have said is that Igbos are criminals and that news like this are only exceptional, against the normal expectation that the criminal will be 95% most likely be Igbo. Even you, you were expecting to see an IGBO man.

Cowards rushing to insult the Igbo people cos they thought the criminal is Igbo, will now crawl back into their holes.

He messed with the wrong country. If it was in Nigeria that he issued a dud cheque and the beneficiary sues him to court, the judge will discharge and acquit him based on personal recognition. This county is a big joke!

Ok

419💯

Fraudster.

Criminal, awoof Dey turn belle

It can't happen in Nigeria

"Justice Butcher" If you enter dis one court na just to forget freedom for a while o.

Not again....

Nigeria kept getting bad news internationally...

Bunch of criminals in the Country

MasterJayJay:
Cowards rushing to insult the Igbo people cos they thought the criminal is Igbo, will now crawl back into their holes.

Even you yourself was surprised it wasn’t Ibos lol

MasterJayJay:
Cowards rushing to insult the Igbo people cos they thought the criminal is Igbo, will now crawl back into their holes.

You're the one insulting igbo people being the first to mention them. Mr man tender an unreserved apology for mentioning Igbo people when nobody has, in a matter that has nothing whatsoever to do with ndigbo.

Ok

mu2sa2:
You're the one insulting igbo people being the first to mention them. Mr man tender an unreserved apology for mentioning Igbo people when nobody has, in a matter that has nothing whatsoever to do with ndigbo.

Don't lie you ran in hoping to see lgbo name

Our international image is so Bad

This is a bad for the image of Nigeria but food for the man. He should serve his time as a criminal. Be wouldn't have been jailed in Nigeria due to the corrupt agencies.

MasterJayJay:
Cowards rushing to insult the Igbo people cos they thought the criminal is Igbo, will now crawl back into their holes.

You're dumb!
unfortunately for you, no one mention them!

MasterJayJay:
Cowards rushing to insult the Igbo people cos they thought the criminal is Igbo, will now crawl back into their holes.

Dubai not South East Asia.

Very controversial Man

FAFO

Meanwhile: No free subsidy money , Thanks to Tinubu

mu2sa2:
You're the one insulting igbo people being the first to mention them. Mr man tender an unreserved apology for mentioning Igbo people when nobody has, in a matter that has nothing whatsoever to do with ndigbo.

Cowardigbos:


You're dumb!
unfortunately for you, no one mention them!

GeneralPula:

Even you yourself was surprised it wasn’t Ibos lol

See them!! They are wailing because I read their mind.

Cry me Atlantic ocean.

Softmirror:


Hmm.......with this comment of your's what you have said is that Igbos are criminals and that news like this are only exceptional, against the normal expectation that the criminal will be 95% most likely be Igbo. Even you, you were expecting to see an IGBO man.

See the bigot that use 'billionaire' to troll Igbo people.

Cry cry harder!!! The 'billionaire' was a bait that made you to book space to comment rubbish as usual. I don't know even know your tribe and don't want to know. Just keep it up with your folly.

Babablu bulabu

Islie:

The ruling marks the second time Abdulrahman Bashar would be sentenced to jail in less than five years.





https://www.premiumtimesng.com/business/business-news/772975-exclusive-nigerian-billionaire-businessman-jailed-in-dubai.html



Nlfpmod

Abdulrahman Bashar clearly thought he could play the same game everywhere, but Dubai isn’t Nigeria. If this had happened back home, he probably would have found a way to “settle” the matter with some well-placed bribes or endless negotiations. But in Dubai, they don’t play those games. The court saw right through his tricks, dismissed his denials, and handed him a proper sentence. It’s embarrassing how some of these so-called billionaires keep dragging Nigeria’s name through the mud. Instead of running a clean business, they think they can bend the rules everywhere. Well, this time, he met his match.

A thief billionaira

Unbelievable,

Hmmm!
May your doing be Pure and May your Wayne Smooth.

What happened to cutting his two hand or 1000 flogging with jail term. It's ok sah because here he'll still be forming big boy and tweeting or nah Xing up and down

MasterJayJay:
Cowards rushing to insult the Igbo people cos they thought the criminal is Igbo, will now crawl back into their holes.

You know those miscreants very well

Okoya Pikin, we've not heard anything from the police.

You don't try shitz in a country with strong systems.

Yahaya Bello is on bail, balling around

MasterJayJay:
Cowards rushing to insult the Igbo people cos they thought the criminal is Igbo, will now crawl back into their holes.

Hope you know that Allen Onyeama of Air Peace would be arrested if he enters USA.

For 4 years, Buhari refused to extradite him
Tinubu too has refused to do same thing.

So, just keep quiet.

Both Yoruba and Hausa Presidents are not willing to send him to jail.

Many criminals from all tribes would get away with many crimes in Nigeria, but not abroad.

James Ibori was discharged here, but went to jail in UK, same way Ekweremadu is serving time in UK.

Hushpuppi Ramon is also in USA prison.

Many criminals get away here in Nigeria, but not abroad

Sentenced in absentia.

Na to avoid UAE be that

Ok