Habtoor Leighton Group (HLG) chief executive José Antonio López-Monís has been detained by police in Dubai, a report said.

López-Monís, who is also the managing director of the contractor, was detained on Wednesday, The Australian newspaper said quoting to a statement to the stock exchange by CIMIC Group, which has a 45 per cent stake in HLG.

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

The group said it was assisting López-Monís and added it would "inform the market as required and as further information is available".

López-Monís joined HLG as chief executive and managing director in October 2012.

Habtoor Leighton is one of the leading contractors in the Middle East.

In May, the Dubai-based Al Habtoor Group said it had no connection with HLG, a former joint venture between itself and Leighton Holding.

The family giant was understood to have held a sizeable stake in HLG, but a company spokesperson told Arabian Business at the time that the Al Habtoor Group had divested its stake in the JV “several years ago”.