The Key Man

May 3, 2021
Wall Street Journal reporter Clark and his former colleague Louch debut with a riveting chronicle of the meteoric rise and scandalous fall of the Dubai private equity firm Abraaj and its conniving founder, Arif Naqvi. The authors write that Naqvi’s obsession “with status, power, and control” was, for a long time, hidden by ostentatious philanthropy, and politicians and fellow businesspeople (among them John Kerry and Bill Gates) fell for his pitch. At its height, Abraaj managed nearly $14 billion and owned stakes in 100 companies globally, and Naqvi won an Oslo Business for Peace Award. But in 2018, Clark and Louch received an email from a whistleblower outlining Naqvi’s exploits (attempting to bribe Pakistan’s prime minister, for instance). They turned it into a Wall Street Journal article, and within six months Naqvi was arrested for operating a criminal organization. The authors detail how, for years, Naqvi misused his company’s money to cover losses and pay for his extravagant lifestyle, which included lavish parties and a 154-foot superyacht. The narrative moves at a fast clip, and extensive interviews with former Abraaj employees strengthen the shock of Naqvi’s “masterful performance.” This deeply reported tale captivates. Agent: Eric Lupfer, Fletcher & Co.

May 15, 2021
Two Wall Street Journal reporters demonstrate how a charismatic but crooked businessman conned elite investors into believing they could profit from doing good for the globally dispossessed. Until he was accused of misappropriating funds in 2018, Pakistani-born Arif Naqvi, founder of the Abraaj Group, was a celebrated private equity tycoon. In this expansion of their investigation for the WSJ, Clark and Louch--who gathered information from "more than 150 people, including 70 former Abraaj employees, business chiefs, politicians and a Vatican cardinal"--chart Naqvi's breathtaking rise to prominence and his even more stupendous fall from grace. The authors depict the young Naqvi as an exceptionally talented student of modest means whose "priority was to get rich." The more ruthless side of his personality began to emerge in his young professional days. A real estate developer in Pakistan, one of his first bosses, noted Naqvi's extreme ego and ambition and willingness to take problematic risks with debt. These traits served him well in his days as an independent fundraiser and dealmaker in Dubai and led him to form the relationships that led to the creation of Abraaj in 2002. The company quickly began making huge profits in developing countries that Naqvi marketed to Western investors and academics as "places of excitement and opportunity." For the next 15 years, banks, philanthropists, and a host of foreign governments--including those of the U.S. and Britain--entrusted Abraaj with spectacular sums meant to fund socially conscious projects (such as the rescue of the perennially failing Karachi Electric company) that Naqvi surreptitiously used to "keep his billionaire lifestyle afloat." As his fame grew, so did his darker tendencies, which manifested as significant abuses of corporate power. Compelling and disturbing, the book is a pointed tale of hubris, greed, and the narrow limits of so-called capitalistic "benevolence" in the era of growing economic inequality. Timely and provocative reading on one of the many perils of the murky private equity world.

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July 16, 2021

Wall Street Journal reporters Clark and Louch chronicle the rise and fall of Arif Naqvi and his Dubai-based private equity firm Abraaj. On the surface, Naqvi was the epitome of the adage that one can do well by doing good. He redefined emerging markets as impact investments, sold investors on his vision of helping people by investing, and hobnobbed with the elite, from Bill Gates to Princes Charles. And it worked--at first. Clark and Louch detail how Naqvi and his top executives started comingling funds to cover salaries and the exorbitant sums spent on parties and events. It didn't take long for Abraaj to go from misusing funds to full-on fraud. Tipped off by an anonymous employee, the authors painstakingly dug up a trove of evidence, including falsified financial reports, company emails, and interviews with those few who would talk to them. Earlier, in 2017, a Gates Foundation investor also noticed that things weren't adding up, and his inquiries led to an international investigation. Abraaj has since been shut down, Naqvi is awaiting extradition to the United States for trial, and one of his top executives has already pled guilty. VERDICT A meticulously researched, compelling reminder of the importance of financial oversight. It should be required reading in business schools.--Karen Sandlin Silverman, Mt. Ararat Middle Sch., Topsham, ME

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