Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan has confessed to having a relationship with one of the five women who have accused him of rape, according to media reports.
However, lawyers for the prominent Islamic scholar, who has been detained in France since early February, insisted the relations were not as portrayed by the alleged victim.
"He knows her, he had a relationship with her, but not what she described," stated Emmanuel Marsigny, according to swissinfo.ch.
Mr Ramadan, an Oxford University professor whose grandfather founded Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood movement, was taken into custody on February 2 over charges he raped several women.
To date, five women have accused him of rape – three in France, one in America and one in Switzerland.
The latest development relates to the third woman who spoke up, a French Muslim woman known as Marie.
Mr Ramadan has denied all the claims against him and claims they are part of a campaign by his enemies to ruin his name.
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Read more:
Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan faces new rape claim
Tariq Ramadan’s alleged victim ‘beaten at home’
New evidence in rape case undermines Tariq Ramadan’s alibi
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The scholar maintains that he had no sexual relations of any sort with his first two complainants. However, when faced with evidence from Marie, he confessed to having a relationship with her.
The 45-year-old woman had provided investigators with screenshots of online conversations between her and Mr Ramadan. She also gave them a dress that is allegedly stained with traces of his body fluid, swissinfo.ch reported.
Mr Marsigny said that experts were conducting tests of the DNA samples.
Marie made a formal complaint at the start of March, claiming to have suffered multiple rapes in France, Brussels and London between 2013 and 2014 at the hands of the scholar.
His two initial accusers went to police in late October, both alleging that he had raped them in French hotel rooms.
In a separate development, a medical report ordered by judges involved in the case has confirmed that Mr Ramadan is suffering from multiple sclerosis, but said they he could be treated behind bars.
In February, a French court dismissed a bid by the 55-year-old to be released from detention on health grounds.
This week, medics confirmed that he has been suffering with the condition since 2006. However, according to AFP, they insisted that he can remain in detention despite the illness, provided he receives adequate medical treatment.
Mr Ramadan is in custody in Fleury-Mérogis prison, in the French district of Essonne.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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