Zain Kuwait says Saudi Plastic Factory owner sentenced to 1-year prison

Mobile Telecommunications Co. (Zain Kuwait) said a UK court has sentenced the owner of the Saudi Plastic Factory, one of the co-founders of Zain Saudi, to a one year in prison.

According to the court ruling, the Saudi prince faces jail in the UK for flouting English contempt laws in the latest stage of a long-running dispute over a loan agreement. He pursued separate legal proceedings in Riyadh, ignoring the UK court order to halt the Saudi case.

In March, Zain Kuwait said it received a final ruling from the International Court of Arbitration ordering Saudi Plastic Factory’s owner to pay more than $526 million to Zain Kuwait.

The telecom firm got a non-appealable final ruling in December 2016 ordering Saudi Plastic Factory to refund $527 million, and said it would pursue legal action in Saudi Arabia after officially completing the arbitration procedures and translating the verdict.

A year earlier, the Kuwaiti company had won an arbitration ruling ordering the Saudi firm to pay that amount, but the latter appealed in UK’s Supreme Court.

Saudi Plastic Factory owns a 5.84 percent stake in Zain Saudi.