issacjohn@khaleejtimes.com Filed on August 19, 2016 | Last updated on August 19, 2016 at 06.28 am

HLG's parent company Cimic Group, formerly known as Leighton Holdings, announced the arrest through a statement to the Australian bourse on Thursday morning.

The chief executive and managing director of Habtoor Leighton Group (HLG) has been arrested by Dubai police following a complaint.

HLG's parent company Cimic Group, formerly known as Leighton Holdings, announced the arrest through a statement to the Australian bourse on Thursday morning.

"As a result of a complaint filed with police in Dubai, the CEO and MD of HLG, Jose Antonio Lopez-Monis, was arrested after market close on Wednesday 17 August 2016," the Cimic statement said.

The news weighed on the group's shares, which slid 2.9 per cent to $30.34 on Thursday.

The statement from Cimic, which owns 45 per cent of the Dubai-based joint venture firm,however was not specific about the nature of the complaint against Lopez-Monis but said HLG is assisting him and that it would update the market when further information is available.

López-Monís joined HLG as CEO and managing director in October 2012. He had previously worked for Dragados of Spain, one of the world's largest construction companies and part of the ACS Group, since 1989.

HLG, one of the leading contractors in the Middle East, was formed in 2007 following the merger of the UAE building contractor Al Habtoor Engineering with Gulf Leighton, Cimic Group's original operating company in the Gulf region.

In May, HGL drew attention after Al Habtoor Group said it had no relationship to the company as it had divested its stake in the joint venture.

HLG's projects in the UAE include the Burj Al Arab hotel, Kempinski Hotel & Residences Palm Jumeirah, Dubai Pearl and St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort, Abu Dhabi.

The arrest of Lopez-Monis comes after Morgan Stanley warned it was struggling to reconcile Cimic's accounts, declaring a "disconnect" between profitability and cash flow.

The Morgan Stanley report was quickly followed by a share price plunge on the back of a disappointing half year report, news reports from Australia said. Cimic Group, Australia's largest project development and contracting group, has seen its share price crash 20 per cent after unveiling its first-half results.

issacjohn@khaleejtimes.com