Abdulrahman Bashar, the Nigerian billionaire businessman and owner of Rahmaniya Group and Ultimate Oil & Gas, has been sentenced to one year in prison by a Dubai court for a financial crime linked to his dealings with CI Energy, an oil and gas firm.
This marks the second time in less than five years that Bashar has faced jail time, with his first conviction dating back to 2020, when a UK court handed him a ten-month sentence. The recent ruling, issued on January 30, 2025, came despite Bashar’s failure to attend his trial, even after being formally notified.
The charges against him are serious: he issued seven cheques worth a combined total of 126.45 million dirhams, drawn from an Emirates Islamic Bank account. The problem? The cheques were signed in a way that made them impossible to cash, with discrepancies in his signature. Prosecutors argued that Bashar deliberately made these cheques unpayable, an action that violated UAE financial laws. With the evidence against him—statements from CI Energy’s agent, Jamal Awad Nasser Hussein, and bank records—the court had little choice but to convict him.
The court’s decision followed the presentation of documents showing that the cheques were returned unpaid after being presented at the bank. Bashar’s defense team attempted to discredit the evidence, hoping to cast doubt on the charges. But the court remained firm, stating that the crime was established by the simple act of issuing the cheques when there were insufficient funds in the account. Despite his denial of the charges, the court emphasized that Bashar’s actions were deliberate, and he would be held accountable for the financial crime.
In addition to the criminal case, the court chose to defer a civil lawsuit, which sought compensation for the damages caused by Bashar’s actions, to a separate court for further investigation. This move suggested the complexity of the financial dispute and the extent of the damage caused by his misconduct. The legal battle over this case is far from over, and it is likely that more revelations will come to light in the coming months.
Bashar’s criminal history isn’t confined to the UAE. In 2020, he was convicted in the UK for breaching multiple court orders related to a dispute with Sahara Energy Resources. The case involved his failure to release a shipment of gas oil, which led to a ten-month jail sentence. He was also fined £500,000, and the company manager, Adebowale Aderemi, was penalized with a £10,000 fine. Now, with his imprisonment in Dubai, the billionaire’s business empire appears to be unraveling, casting a shadow over his vast influence in the oil and gas i
ndustry.
