BNP Paribas (Suisse) is enforcing a Sharjah judgment of about $118.8M against Gulf Petrochem companies and the Goel family in the UAE, India, and England. In India, the Supreme Court dismissed the Goels’ special leave petition in March 2026, leaving execution of the decree in place. In London, Prerit Goel says the bank obtained the judgment by fraud, and the High Court has reserved judgment on the bank’s summary judgment application.
Latest development Oct 20, 2026
On October 20, 2026, the High Court in London began a two-day hearing of BNP Paribas’s application for summary judgment enforcing the UAE judgment against Prerit Goel. Goel argues that the UAE courts lacked jurisdiction over him and that the bank obtained the judgment by fraud. Deputy Judge Christopher Hancock reserved judgment.
Why it matters
The case tests whether a bank can enforce an onshore UAE money judgment in several countries at once, as courts in India have allowed. In London, the court must decide whether Prerit Goel’s fraud and jurisdiction defenses need a full trial.
Background
Gulf Petrochem, an oil trader in the GP Global group, was owned and managed by members of the Goel family. Global Trade Review (GTR) reported that the group had about $1.2B of debt when it collapsed in mid-2020. BNP Paribas (Suisse) SA, the Swiss arm of BNP Paribas, says it began providing credit lines to Gulf Petrochem in 2017. It alleges that from early March 2020 the trader issued forged invoices and told its customers to pay into other accounts. The bank says it discovered this in mid-July 2020 and demanded repayment of $121.1M.
On September 23, 2022, the bank sued 15 defendants in the Sharjah Court of First Instance. They were Ashok Kumar Goel, Sudhir Goel, Manan Goel, Prerit Goel, nine Gulf Petrochem FZC entities, and two GP Global HNT Terminals FZE entities. The companies are licensed in the Hamriyah Free Zone in Sharjah and the Fujairah Free Zone. The court dismissed the claim on August 7, 2023. On October 10, 2023, the Sharjah Court of Appeal ordered all 15 to pay about $118.8M plus interest and costs. According to the bank’s London filing, the UAE court found the individual defendants personally liable for Gulf Petrochem’s obligations.
The bank started execution in Sharjah on November 6, 2023. In October 2024 and January 2025, the Sharjah Court of Appeal issued two corrections that left only five debtors liable. The UAE Court of Cassation annulled the first on December 18, 2024, and the second on March 5, 2025. On June 19, 2025, the Court of Appeal affirmed the decree against all 15, describing the attempted corrections as “disguised requests” to alter a conclusive judgment. Meanwhile, on August 2, 2024, the bank had asked the Delhi High Court to execute the decree against the four Goels, who hold assets in India. The debtors argued that the decree was not final and that it could not be executed in India and the UAE at the same time. On September 19, 2025, Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav rejected both objections and held the petition maintainable under Section 44A of the Code of Civil Procedure. A division bench of the Delhi High Court dismissed the Goels’ appeal on December 24, 2025, and the Supreme Court of India dismissed their special leave petition on March 23, 2026. According to GTR, a Delhi High Court order restrains Prerit Goel and the other judgment debtors from leaving India without the court’s permission.
On December 19, 2024, the bank issued a claim against Prerit Goel in the Commercial Court in London to enforce the UAE judgment at common law. It also claims £10.5M in interest. In his defense, filed on February 20, 2025, Goel denies any knowledge of forged invoices. He says the bank obtained the UAE judgment by fraud and concealed the proceedings from him, serving notice by newspaper advertisement. He also says the UAE courts had no jurisdiction over him because he was not resident in the UAE. On October 20 and 21, 2026, Christopher Hancock, sitting as a deputy High Court judge, heard the bank’s application for summary judgment and reserved judgment. Rupert Reed KC argued for the bank and Matthew Cook for Goel.
Timeline 13 events
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HearingHigh Court hears BNP Paribas’s summary judgment bid against Prerit Goel
At the two-day hearing, Goel argued that the UAE courts lacked jurisdiction and that the bank obtained the judgment by fraud. Deputy Judge Christopher Hancock reserved judgment.
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JudgmentSupreme Court of India dismisses Goels’ special leave petition
The court found no ground to interfere with the Delhi High Court’s December 2025 ruling, leaving the decree enforceable in India.
ASHOK KUMAR GOEL v. BNP PARIBAS SUISSE SA, SLP(C) No. 8584/2026
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AppealDelhi High Court division bench dismisses Goels’ appeal
The division bench dismissed the appeal in EFA(OS) 20/2025 against the September 2025 order allowing execution of the Sharjah decree in India.
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JudgmentDelhi High Court allows execution of the Sharjah decree in India
Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav held the petition maintainable. He rejected the objection that the decree could not be executed in India and the UAE at the same time.
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JudgmentSharjah Court of Appeal affirms the decree against all debtors
The court described the attempted corrections as “disguised requests” to alter a conclusive judgment.
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JudgmentUAE Court of Cassation restores the decree against all 15 debtors
The court overturned a January 2025 correction that had left only five debtors liable. On December 18, 2024, it had annulled an earlier correction of October 9, 2024.
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OrderPrerit Goel files his defense in London
Goel denied knowing of any forged invoices. He said the bank obtained the UAE judgment by fraud and that the UAE courts lacked jurisdiction over him.
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FilingBNP Paribas files Part 7 claim against Prerit Goel in London
BNP Paribas issued proceedings in the Commercial Court (CL-2024-000691) seeking to enforce the Sharjah judgment against Prerit Goel under English common law.
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FilingBNP Paribas sues Prerit Goel in London to enforce the judgment
The bank also claimed a further £10.5M in interest. It alleged that Gulf Petrochem began issuing forged invoices in March 2020.
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EnforcementBNP Paribas asks the Delhi High Court to execute the decree
The bank filed its execution petition under Section 44A of the Code of Civil Procedure against the four Goels, who hold assets in India.
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EnforcementBNP Paribas starts execution of the decree in Sharjah
The bank filed Case No. 8864 of 2023 before the Execution Court in Sharjah. The Delhi High Court recorded in September 2025 that no part of the sum had been paid.
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JudgmentSharjah Court of Appeal orders 15 debtors to pay $118.8M
On the bank’s appeal, the court ordered the four Goels and 11 group companies to pay about $118.8M plus interest and costs.
Delhi High Court judgment, September 19, 2025GTR, January 15, 2025
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FilingBNP Paribas sues Gulf Petrochem and the Goels in Sharjah
The bank sued 15 defendants in the Sharjah Court of First Instance: four members of the Goel family and 11 Gulf Petrochem and GP Global HNT Terminals entities. The court dismissed the claim on August 7, 2023.
Experimental AI forecast
How it is madeWill the High Court in London grant BNP Paribas summary judgment enforcing the Sharjah judgment against Prerit Goel by June 30, 2027?
- Goel’s defenses go to trial38%
- BNP wins summary judgment against Goel36%
- Still pending on June 30, 202712%
- Partial or conditional ruling9%
- BNP and Goel settle before ruling5%
- Resolves by
- Jun 30, 2027in 8 months
- Record confidence
- Medium
The most likely outcome is that the London court sends Prerit Goel’s defenses to trial (38%), narrowly ahead of summary judgment for BNP Paribas (36%). A ruling is expected by mid-2027. English common law recognizes a foreign judgment only if the defendant was present in or submitted to the foreign court, and Goel disputes UAE residence.
How it resolves. Resolves on the first public High Court ruling on BNP Paribas’s summary judgment application in CL-2024-000691. “Summary judgment granted” if the court enters judgment for the bank on the UAE judgment debt without trial. “Trial ordered” if the court dismisses the application and sends the jurisdiction or fraud defenses to trial. “Partial ruling” if the court grants judgment on some issues or sums but sends others to trial, or allows the claim subject to conditions such as a conditional order. “Settlement” if a settlement or discontinuance is publicly reported before any ruling. “Still pending” if none of these has occurred by June 30, 2027.
Reasoning
Starting point. Contested summary judgment applications in the English Commercial Court to enforce foreign money judgments at common law where jurisdiction and fraud defenses are raised.: Roughly half of contested Commercial Court summary judgment applications succeed. Rates are lower where defendants raise fact-dependent jurisdiction or fraud defenses. Reserved judgments usually issue within about three months.
Contested Commercial Court summary judgment applications succeed about half the time, less often where defenses turn on disputed facts. Under English common law, a foreign judgment binds a defendant only if he was present in the foreign country or submitted to its courts. Goel says he was not UAE resident and learned of the case only through newspaper service, which raises factual questions that courts often leave for trial. English law also lets a debtor raise fraud against a foreign judgment even if it could have been argued abroad, though a bare allegation will not defeat summary judgment. The bank’s position is strengthened by the UAE appellate and cassation rulings and by Indian courts upholding execution through the Supreme Court in March 2026. Those rulings do not decide the English jurisdiction test, however. The leading alternative is full summary judgment if the record shows Goel’s UAE presence or participation in the UAE proceedings. Judgment was reserved after the October 20 to 21, 2026 hearing, so a ruling before June 30, 2027, is likely but not certain.
English presence or submission test for foreign judgment jurisdiction · Factual dispute over Goel’s UAE residence and service · Fraud defense to foreign judgments survives in English law · UAE and Indian courts upheld the decree at every level · Reserved judgment timing after October 2026 hearing
Generated automatically by Claude Opus 5.5 on Nov 8, 2026 from this case’s record on this site, and published without editorial review. The probabilities are the model’s judgment, not measured frequencies, and they are scored publicly as cases resolve. Not legal or investment advice. How the forecasts are made