A businessman who once claimed he would create 1,000 jobs in Bermuda for an artificial intelligence company has failed in a bid to delay seizure of shares he owns in a related business.

Businessman Muhammad Ziaullah Chishti claimed in 2021 that Afiniti, which was developing artificial intelligence software for call centres, would have 1,000 employees on the island by 2025.

But the business faltered after Mr Chishti was accused of sexually assaulting an employee. Mr Chishti denied the allegations, but the company, which once claimed former British Prime Minister David Cameron as an adviser and employed British Royal Family member Princess Beatrice, ran into difficulties and declared bankruptcy in the US last year.

Chishti is now fighting an action related to the The Resource Group International Limited (TRGI), a venture capital firm he founded which also invested in Afiniti.

Puisne Judge Andrew Martin dismissed Mr Chishti’s application to delay TRGI’s seizure of $9 million worth of shares he controls in the business.

The company is seeking to seize and sell those shares to satisfy the unpaid debt arising from a JAMS arbitration award, which Bermuda courts recognised as a local judgment in July 2025.

Appearing by Zoom from Pakistan, Mr Chishti had argued that the hearing should be delayed until late February to allow ongoing litigation in the Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) to conclude. He claimed that those proceedings could lift injunctions preventing him from disposing of shares in TRG‑Pakistan, potentially enabling him to realise assets and satisfy creditors.

But the Bermuda court ruled on January 16 that the Pakistan proceedings were irrelevant to the arbitration debt.

Mr Martin said the overseas litigation concerned allegations of fraudulent conduct and corporate wrongdoing that had “no connection” to Mr Chishti’s contractual breach found in arbitration — namely violating a negative pledge covenant by dealing in TRGI and TRG‑Pakistan shares.

The judge described Mr Chishti’s reliance on the Pakistan case as an “impermissible collateral attack” on earlier Bermuda rulings, noting there was no stay on the arbitration award and no arguable dispute as to his liability.

Mr Martin also rejected claims that time‑zone differences, mediation commitments, or the absence of legal representation justified further delay. Mr Chishti, he found, had already been given ample time to prepare following a previous adjournment in November.

With the adjournment refused, TRGI is now positioned to pursue enforcement steps that could ultimately result in the sale of Mr Chishti’s shares to recoup the multi‑million‑dollar debt.

TRGI said in a statement that the court ordered the transfer of all shares held in the company by the former chairman to a court-appointed receiver for sale.

The company said a US court in June found that Mr Chishti transferred assets after the award was issued “with the actual intent to defraud TRGI”.

Subsequently, the recipient of those transfers has paid $1.2 million to Mr Chishti's creditors.