Insofar as Jefris argument that he was entitled to deal with these assets as his own, he was correct. On December 1, 2006, Jefri filed a complaint in New York charging the Derbyshires with pervasive fraud, breach of contract, conspiracy, and criminal enterprise. He launched a simultaneous assault in the international media, hiring a London public-relations firm to publicize his lawsuit. Jefri Bolkiah ibni Omar Ali Saifuddien III (born 6 November 1954), is a member of the Brunei Royal Family. Back home, the sultan erected a 1,788-room palace on 49 acres, which is without equal in the world for offensive and ugly display, in the words of one British magnate, and celebrated his 50th birthday with a blowout featuring a concert by Michael Jackson, who was reportedly paid $17 million, in a stadium built for the occasion. The trial dragged on for six weeks, giving rise to more questions than answers. It began, as fairy tales often do, with an unforeseen messenger, a London hairdresser named Jay Maggistro, who was something of a celebrity within the London jet set. Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah has a family secret: His sex-obsessed and profligate spending . I was paid a salary when I was working for him and then as a fiance I was given gifts, Raines testified at the trial. We may only be a few weeks into 2023, but we have already been treated to our . . Due to his family and money ties, the 24-year-old has frequently been featured in the news media. Even Time and Forbes magazines failed at attempts to write a profile piece after the birth of the couple's first child. Faiq Bolkiah, a man who even the most diehard fans were unlikely to have heard of, was apparently the richest footballer in the world. Jefri has never been held in contempt in Brunei. (The B.I.A. The current sultan, the 29th in a long line of rulers subservient to Great Britain, hit the jackpot when his country gained independence, in 1984. He was [Bruneis] finance minister for a reason: he is a very, very smart man, says Zaman. When the trial began, in Courtroom 242 of New York Supreme Court last year, those in the know assumed that the louche secrets of Prince Jefris boundless excesses would finally come to light. Another schoolfriend, Angelique Bolger, the niece of former PM Jim, last saw Kelly in the lift of the Heritage Hotel in Auckland in January - on an advertisement for the hotel bar. Another juror remarked of Jefri and Prince Bahar, To me they looked like Hollywood actors, trying to show us that by being royals they were fooled.. I was effectively a conduit of information between the different lawyers in all the different jurisdictions around the world, he testified in New York, adding that because this information frequently had to do with the princes frozen and hidden assets, it was necessary to deal with those lawyers in person. Quick Facts. Derbyshire contended that he worked for more than seven months before receiving his first payment, which was $660,000 in expenses instead of $4 million in salary, and by then, he claims, he had spent approximately $600,000 of his own on travel expenses for himself and lawyers he had recruited to travel with him to Brunei. . A regular at the trendy Les Mills gym in downtown Auckland, Kelly moved to Paris on her OE and got a job chaperoning the Sultan of Brunei's wives. Their first assignment was to fly to New York and review the books of Jefris most important asset, the New York Palace hotel, which was then turning an annual profit of $50 million, and determine why the invoices to the hotel from a company they would later learn Jefri controlledaveraging between $550,000 and $1.5 million a monthhad suddenly stopped being paid. Ad Choices. They eventually opened a London hotel, restaurant, and club together, No. Entire companies had allegedly been omitted, as had account numbers and balances for the princes multiple bank accounts. . . Zaman did not inform [Prince Bahar] that she was to receive 5% of GOP, Jefri later wrote in an affidavit, insisting that Bahar didnt fully read the agreement before signing it. [17][29] Judge Peter Smith did not rule on whether Prince Jefri was in contempt, but did issue a warrant for his arrest. Insofar as were able to tell, Richard Chalk replied when I asked him if his client, the B.I.A., was sure that Prince Jefri didnt have another billion somewhere. maintained that there never was a finalized lifestyle agreement, and a British court agreed. Prince Jefri is the youngest brother of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah (the 29th Sultan of Brunei and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam). Mohamed convinced the sultan that Jefri was going to take them down, said one insider. When they arrived, a crew was waiting to help. and the sultan spent an estimated $400 million on tracking down Jefris wealth, much of which the B.I.A. Jefri Bolkiah was born in Brunei Town, Brunei on November 6, 1954.. On Popular Bio, Jefri Bolkiah is one of the successful Royalty. And I refused to do it. (According to Stewart, No such request was ever made.). Princess ' Azemah Ni'matul Bolkiah (born 26 September 1984) is a princess of Brunei. He met the prince after answering the phone in his North London salon near closing time one day. In spite of being called a mini-state, Brunei is well-known around the . Vanity Fair may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. was reviving proceedings against the prince, refreezing assets in his name, leaving him without access to monies that were in his direct accounts, says Chalk. The contempt proceeding was scheduled for a hearing in June 2008, but the Prince did not attend, instead going to Paris. Derbyshire would routinely rush to the airport, where a private plane would fly him off to wherever Jefri had a lawyer, in order to sign papers, retrieve documents, or receive further instructions. I have no idea about how many law firms [Derbyshire] contacted, he wrote. (Prince Jefri flatly denied giving the Derbyshires the two leases. The first thing that met you was this rock-crystal waterfall, probably 30 to 40 feet high, and in front of it was a life-size statue of Prince Jefri with a polo mallet in solid gold, says Derbyshire. The 81-year-old judge was a well-known veteran of the courts. W-Stories. He had presided over Woody Allens 2002 civil case against his former producer Jean Doumanian, and when Allen attempted to respond to a question with a rambling answer, Gammerman interrupted him midsentence, barking, Stop talking Im the director here. Now, slouched behind the bench, he surveyed a surfeit of lawyers in his courtroom: nine attorneys from blue-chip firms on each side, getting hourly fees of up to $1,000 apiece, all paid by the Sultan of Brunei. Puan Salma binti Abdullah ne Claire Kelly fifth wife (en) dbp:succession: dbr:Ministry_of_Finance_and_Economy_(Brunei) dbp:successor: dbr:Hassanal_Bolkiah; dbp . The disclosure list provided by Prince Jefri was incomplete and wholly inadequate for a number of reasons, the B.I.A.s lead attorney, Richard Chalk, wrote in an affidavit. It would be the biggest honor of my life if I was permitted to sleep with Jefri, because he is half-man, half-god, like Jesus Christ to the Christians, Marketic said an aide to the prince had told her. Thursday, 19 Feb 2004. Within a few days a call came from Maggistro: the prince wanted to see Derbyshire. Claire Kelly. Should the sultan ever be successful in taking over the hotel, he would have to deal with them for the rest of his life. [4], An independent investigation was undertaken into the circumstances of these special transfers, concluding that in round figures, US$14.8 billion were paid to the accounts of Prince Jefri, US$8 billion to accounts of the Sultan and US$3.8 billion for Government purposes; the destination, purpose and recipients of the remaining transfers were not established. The sultan and the B.I.A. It was agreed that one of them should open an account at UBS Zurich to receive the $575 million, the sale proceeds, but [the banker] wasnt confident that UBS wouldnt treat those funds as being captured by the Brunei freezing order, Derbyshire testified. Good morning, he always replied. The house is now occupied by Jefri's wife Claire Kelly. (Through an executive at his company, Warner declined to comment. But today the Herald on Sunday can reveal fresh information about Kelly's Kiwi beginnings. . Ed Pilkington in New York @edpilkington. Jefri Bolkiah ibni Omar Ali Saifuddien III [1] (born 6 November 1954), is a member of the Brunei Royal Family. Putera Jefri pernah berkhidmat sebagai ketua agensi pelaburan Brunei yang melaburkan banyak kekayaan negara tersebut dan bertanggungjawab untuk pelaburan di luar negara. Their attorney called him a man of unlimited tastes, a one-man walking market, who bought practically everything he saw, including a rug woven with jewels in threads of solid gold ($7 million), 10 jewel-encrusted wristwatches that depicted on the hour a couple copulating ($8 million), and similarly erotic fountain pens ($1.3 million). Jefri Bolkiah, Prince of Brunei, better known by her family name Prince Jefri Bolkiah, is a popular Malaysian royal. Jefri claimed that the sultan had authorized all withdrawals (It is inconceivable that this $40 billion could have been withdrawn without anyone having noticed it over the previous 15 years, he wrote); the sultan countered that Jefri had embezzled the money. On November 7, Zaman and Derbyshire were summoned to Paris, where Jefri said he was terminating them, effective immediately. She is the eighth child of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei by his former second wife, Puan Hajah Mariam. By February 2005, Jefri had regained full control of his biggest asset, the New York Palace, and installed Zaman to represent his interests there. Rod Stewart performed at one of Hakeems birthdays, and when Bahar turned nine, the sultan threw a bash at Claridges in London, transforming a ballroom into a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle headquarters. So that starts the process, he continues, meaning Jefris by then well-known habit of accessing undisclosed accounts in companies that werent under his name but were under his control. Ferrari - 452 cars. Celebrating a court victory with fellow barristers in a private dining room at No. The sultan was picking up not only his brothers legal fees but also the Derbyshires, owing to their role as officers of Prince Jefris Delaware-based entities, which provided indemnities and paid legal fees in work-related claims. In 1983 the sultan appointed Jefri head of the Brunei Investment Agency (B.I.A. In stark contrast to the subdued prince were the defendants: Zaman, a 34-year-old, effervescent beauty, her fine figure packed into smart business outfits, and her husband, 43, who spoke with a Liverpool accent and appeared almost every day in a different bespoke suit and silk pocket foulard. ", "From corner shop princess to billionaire wife", "The Brunei royal family: The Sultan, his brother and an 8 billion family feud", "Potentate Power: Sultan Swats Sex Slave Suit", "Interview With a (Former) Harem Girl: We Talk To Jillian Lauren About 'Some Girls', "Prince Jefri: The Prince Who Blew Through Millions", "Royal Dispute Over Billions in Brunei Nears a Resolution", "Prince Jefri blames brother Sultan of Brunei for family feud", "Sultan's brother told to repay billions", "The Royal Treatment; Ruling Family Feuds as Oil Income Drops in Brunei", "Prince Jefri's shame goes under the hammer", "New York Palace joins Dorchester stable", "Transcript of proceedings of 11 June 2008, Brunei v. Bolkiah, High Court of Justice, Chancery Division, Claim No. Le prince Jefri Bolkiah en tenue de polo, Sultanat de Brunei Darussalam. So, it shouldn't come as a big surprise to anyone that a Brunei royalty would have more money than other wealthy footballers. He's locked in a legal battle with his elder brother Hassanal Bolkiah, the Sultan of Brunei, over claims he funded his playboy lifestyle with $18 billion from his homeland's royal treasury. Sports career [ edit ] The eldest son of Sultan . However, the case is far from over. He also served as chairman of the Brunei Investment Agency (BIA) which invests much of the country's wealth and was responsible for overseas . Three of Jefris wristwatches, gem-encrusted and reportedly worth more than $850,000 total, were sold in November 2009 in Londons Hatton Gardens jewelry quarter. Along with Maggistro and Jefris Manhattan lawyer, they had arranged a meeting with the hotels managing director, John Segreti. 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