Social security fund wins arbitration case against Qatari firm

AMMAN — The Social Security Investment Fund (SSIF) Chairman Suleiman Hafez on Thursday said the fund has won the case dubbed as the “Housing Bank Stakes” that was filed by the Qatari Al Musabalah Company at the International Arbitration Court in Zurich, Switzerland. 

Hafez said the fund's lawyer informed him Thursday evening that arbitrator ruled in favour of the SSIF, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra. 

He pointed out that he would hold a press conference to disclose more details about the case and its various phases.  Petra announced that the press conference would take place at its Amman office on 11:30am Friday.

A lawsuit was filed at a Swiss court some two years ago by the Qatari firm, which alleged that it bought the fund’s stake in the Housing Bank for Trade and Finance (HBTF) — Jordan’s second largest bank — requesting the SSIF to pay over JD93 million for failing to implement the alleged agreement to sell its stake.

Al Musabalah Company was owned by Qatari businesspeople, and was registered in the Central American country of Belize under the name of Al Musabalah Doha Capital.

The government has insisted from the beginning on describing the alleged deal as a fraud attempt by the Qatari firm, which has no business records in the Gulf state.