Al-Etihad Insurance says claim with Bahrain Chamber against Venture Capital dismissed

Logo of Al-Etihad Cooperative Insurance Co.

Al-Etihad Cooperative Insurance Co. received on Dec. 3 a notification from the Bahrain Chamber for Dispute Resolution (BCDR) regarding the lawsuit filed against Saudi Venture Capital Investment Co. (SVC), according to a Tadawul statement.

The insurance services provider was notified that the defense raised by the defendants in response to the plaintiff's claim was dismissed on lack of jurisdiction from BCDR and Bahrain courts to hear the case.

The plaintiff's claim filed against the defendants (one to six) was rejected due to irrelevance, and the plaintiff was ordered to pay attorney fees of BHD 100.

Further, the claim against the defendants (seven to 12) was dismissed, obligating the plaintiff to pay case and attorney fees — requested by the defendants — estimated at BHD 3,000 and translation fees of BHD 376. In addition, all parties were ordered to pay the assigned expert fees.

There is no expected financial impact on Al-Etihad's profit and loss statement related to this investment portfolio. This is because the company reflected the maximum probable loss and factored in an equivalent impairment loss in previous financial periods.

However, some immaterial costs associated with lawsuit, attorney, and translation fees estimated at BHD 3,476 (SAR 34,500), were incurred.

Al-Etihad’s executive and legal management is currently evaluating the follow-up measures to be implemented, which will be announced in due course.

According to data available with Argaam, the insurer said the lawsuit, filed in March 2022, is related to a financial dispute over an investment.

The dispute is related to the nature of an investment with SVC worth $16.4 million, where the latter did not satisfy Al-Etihad’s request to liquidate at maturity on the basis of illiquidity of investments despite the maturity date being due.

On Aug. 2, the insurer received the decision of the General Secretariat of Committees for Resolution of Securities Disputes (GS-CRSD) on its rejection of the claim filed against SVC due to lack of jurisdiction.