LAHORE: The Abraaj Group, one of the largest and most influential private equity funds in the developing world made headlines last week after investors raised questions over the handling of funds, accusing the group of utilising funds for operations rather than investments. However, according to a recent statement by Abraaj a thorough review by a forensic accountant into the private equity fund did not find any abnormalities.
After investors including the World Bank and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation showed concerns over mishandling of funds, Abraaj hired KPMG to conduct a thorough forensic review of part of its billion-dollar healthcare fund.
In a statement released here, Abraaj said that Abraaj Growth Markets Health Fund had appointed KPMG in January 2018 to investigate and verify payments and receipts of the fund. It further said that the review was conducted in line with international standards.
It further added “KPMG has now completed its findings and reported that all such payments and receipts have been verified, in line with the agreed-upon procedures performed, and that unused capital was returned to investors,” said a Financial Times (FT) report.
Abraaj had earlier claimed that funds worth $ 200 million were not utilised due to delay in approval from regulatory bodies to deploy hospitals in Pakistan, Kenya and Nigeria. The group later said that it was a minor roadblock and has been communicated to investors.
After the green signal from KPMG, Abraaj is all set to raise $ 6 billion for its flagship fund, said an FT report.
