Al Habtoor hires US law firm in case against Lebanese government

Dubai conglomerate Al Habtoor Group has appointed White & Case, a New York law firm, to represent it in arbitration against the Lebanese government.  

Al Habtoor has entered the final stages of preparation for the proceedings in Washington, it said in a statement.

The arbitration, which is in line with the dispute-resolution mechanisms of the investment treaty between the UAE and Lebanon, follows a six-month treaty-mandated cooling-off period.

Al Habtoor alleges that it has suffered “severe breaches and damages” in its dispute with the Lebanese authorities.

It said the “continued inaction, institutional paralysis and the absence of remedial measures” had left it with “no alternative but to pursue enforcement and recovery” through arbitration.

AGBI has contacted Lebanon’s Ministry of Economy & Trade for comment.

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Al Habtoor Group said in January that it would take legal action against the Lebanese government.

The group alleges that its frozen Lebanese assets, combined with the government’s “failure … to take timely and necessary measures to protect foreign investments and private properties”, have resulted in losses of $1.7 billion.

The disagreement with Lebanon dates back to the banking crisis that began in 2019, wiping out more than 95 percent of the Lebanese lira’s value and freezing $90 billion in deposits.

Al Habtoor Group is headed by chairman Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor. It has several major interests in Lebanon, including the Habtoor Grand Hotel Beirut, the Sooq Avenue mall and the theme park Habtoorland, which is currently closed.