Former Leeds United managing director and one-time GFH Capital general counsel David Haigh falsely invoiced a barrister at Fountain Court for £1.3m, court documents filed against the imprisoned lawyer allege.

Haigh's former employer GFH, which filed the claim, says he misappropriated $5m (£3m) of the private equity company's funds "by creating or procuring the creation of false invoices and procuring payment of those false invoices".

This included allegedly falsifying fee invoices totalling £1,303,678 between 25 April and 24 December last year to a bank account purportedly owned by Fountain Court barrister David Murray.

GFH says Murray's clerk only raised two separate fee notes, for £8,350 and £3,505 respectively, during the period, and that the £1.3m of invoices were sent to an account not owned by Murray.

A clerk for Fountain Court declined to comment on the matter.

"David is contesting this claim at every level, absolutely denies the allegations, and will be filing a counter claim above the amount sought by GFH," a source close to Haigh told Legal Week.

"He feels enormously that GFH's tactics have been oppressive and wrong, and would reiterate that he still has not been charged."

Haigh (pictured) took over as the managing director of Leeds in July 2013, following its acquisition by Dubai based-GFH. He has been in prison since 18 May, after being arrested on arrival at Dubai airport.

His bank accounts have also been frozen, as a result of "a communication from GFH making false allegations that David had been involved in money laundering", according to Haigh's spokesperson.

Today (9 June), a spokesperson said: "From the documentation he has seen, David is clear that many of the signatures purporting to be his may be forgeries.

"He is also aware that, during the period in question, others had access to his emails and that it would have been inconceivable for the expenditure of the sort of sums of money set out in the GFH claim to have been signed off without the express knowledge of other senior people at GFH."

He resigned from his post at GFH in April after Leeds was sold to Italian businessman Massimo Cellino.

Separately, a lawyer for Haigh told Legal Week contact has been difficult with his client him while he is in jail.

"The situation is still evolving and it is not easy to take any definite view of the situation," said DK Singh, formerly India practice manager at Dentons and now managing partner of litigation boutique KBH Kaanun.

"As you will know whilst David is in incarceration it is hard to take instructions from him."

KBH dispute resolution head and former Ely Place barrister Bushra Ahmed is also advising Haigh.

GFH Capital is being represented in the case by Dubai-based Gibson Dunn & Crutcher partner Peter Gray, an instruction over which Haigh has raised questions, according to his spokesperson:

"[David] raised concerns in the court hearing last week about what he believes is the conflicted position of one of the lawyers acting for GFH, Peter Gray, who was for many years a friend, legal adviser and business partner of his"

"Although he is deeply frustrated at being held in custody for this length of time without charge, David has no quarrel with the Dubai authorities whose hand he believes has been forced by the tactics used against him."

Prior to his time at GFH and Leeds, Haigh worked in an in-house role at Barclays, and in private practice at Thomas Eggar, DLA Piper and Akin Gump.

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