UAE-Israeli consortium moves closer to reopening Finablr

The reopening of UAE Exchange and Xpress Money moved a step closer to reality following the appointment of a firm to advise on financial compliance and fraud prevention.

Prism Group and Abu Dhabi’s Royal Strategic Partners, the consortium working on the revitalisation of UAE Exchange and Xpress Money parent company Finablr, appointed Matrix International Financial Services to develop financial crime prevention systems and processes across the group.

Prism formed a consortium with Royal Strategic Partners to complete the purchase of Finablr at the end of last year and has been working in conjunction with regulators and stakeholders to conclude the formalities of the acquisition.

Last month, the consortium appointed independent investment bank Moelis & Company to advise the Group on a debt restructuring.

Also, the consortium has been funding urgent working capital needed to stabilise the business and is seeking to restart operations and implement its business plan for Finablr.

These measures will lead to the anticipated re-opening of UAE Exchange, the Abu Dhabi-based remittance house, whose branches have been closed since March 2020, along with the Group’s other leading products. They include global money transfer Group Xpress Money and businesses in international markets including India.

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Finablr collapsed at the beginning of 2020 following allegations of malpractice against its founder and top management.

Before it collapsed, Finablr offered currency exchange, payments and remittance solutions services to more than 22 million customers and over 1,500 corporate partners.

“The appointment of Matrix is another significant milestone in our plan to recapitalise, restructure and rebuild the group and revitalise its portfolio of assets in some of the world’s fastest-growing markets,” said Prism Group co-founder Amir Nagammy.

“Together with Royal Strategic Partners, the consortium is committed to working with all of Finablr Group’s stakeholders to build a major international fintech group of companies serving the remittance and payment needs of its 22 million customers across 170 countries.”