According to internal communications seen by TechCrunch, Rippling’s efforts to serve Deel CEO Alex Bouaziz is significantly complicated by the fact that Bouaziz and his lawyer are currently in Dubai.
The United Arab Emirates is a country with a reputation as a safe haven for those who want to avoid extradition.
Rippling is seeking to serve Bouaziz as part of a blockbuster lawsuit against Deel in Ireland. However, the French enforcement officer was unable to find Bou Agis in his apartment in Paris, his native France last week.
The lawsuit accuses Ireland’s wavy employee Keith O’Brien and Boo Agis of reading an affidavit that is allegedly “spy” as outside the film.
And it’s not the only one in the United Arab Emirates. Ripling’s legal team said at a court hearing last week that Deal’s legal affairs director Asif Malik had moved to Dubai. According to O’Brien’s affidavit, Malik, a British citizen, is the same lawyer who allegedly offered to move O’Brien, a suspected spy, to Dubai, to refuse to cooperate with Ripples and pay legal fees.
European authorities say that while the legal environment in the UAE makes it extremely difficult to hand over people, the Gulf state has told the media it is committed to working with international partners on law enforcement, and has recently stepped up the extradition of several long-standing criminals.
Bouaziz’s father, Deel’s CFO, claims that O’Brien oversaw the payments to him and knew the scheme, and currently lists his location as the UAE of X.
Deel, along with Alex and Philippe Bouaziz, did not respond to requests for comment. Deal responds to Ripling’s lawsuit denies all fraud. Ripples did not respond to requests for comment.