Abraaj Group

Abraaj, once the developing world's largest private equity firm managing $14 billion, collapsed in 2018 when investors discovered it had commingled funds and diverted money meant for healthcare investments. Founder Arif Naqvi created a 'Robin Hood' narrative—using capitalism to help the poor—while running what prosecutors called 'a global Ponzi scheme.' Like an organism that produces elaborate camouflage to mask predatory behavior, Abraaj's impact investing story concealed fraud.