Facing a potential two-year prison term for refusing to divulge his bank accounts, Jefri lay low in his five-star hotels and palatial homes until he finally reconciled with his brother and returned to Brunei, with an alibi for at least a small portion of the lost fortune: he hadnt spent all of the money, he said; his lawyers Faith Zaman and Thomas Derbyshire had stolen at least $23 million of it in seven breaches of trust, the seven frauds, which his attorneys would detail in court and which Zaman and Derbyshire would contend were schemes to funnel money through them to benefit the prince. [citation needed]. On November 7, Zaman and Derbyshire were summoned to Paris, where Jefri said he was terminating them, effective immediately. He was [Bruneis] finance minister for a reason: he is a very, very smart man, says Zaman. (Stewarts response: The state of the cars wasnt due to lack of air-conditioning but to a lack of necessary maintenance. As to the contents of the palaces, they were legally Prince Jefris to take.). Hakeem was not able to catch the ball, so a teammate would hand it to him, and he would then shuffle down the field for an easy touchdown, because no one was allowed to tackle a prince. After five minutes of small talk, the meeting was over. Faiq Bolkiah was born on 9 May 1998 in Los Angeles, California, United States of America. were about to evict Jefri from St. Johns Lodge, in London, and the Place Vendme property, in Paris, leaving him without a residence or suitable income, other than the paltry $20,000 a month he receives for life as a member of the Brunei royal family. With the addition of Jefris own words in various affidavits, an extraordinary story comes to light. . We have a very amicable chat, and he says he is going to his office and will be with us again in a few minutes, says Derbyshire. [8], Prince Jefri also owned a network of companies and investment vehicles under the name Amadeo run by his son Hakim,[8] which was used to buy the luxury goods company Asprey and build an amusement park and other projects in Brunei. would claim was squirreled away in bank accounts and shell companies registered in remote tax havens. Succeeded on the death of his elder brother, 4 th June 1950. Jillian Lauren, who wrote about her time in Jefris harem in her book Some Girls, published last year, said that sex with the prince was quick, impersonal, and unprotected. ; : Hassanal Bolkiah: : 1946715 76 : : : : : : : Royal Military Academy SandhurstVictoria InstitutionSultan Omar Ali Saifuddien College Later that same November, though, after the couples departure, Jefri claimed in an affidavit, he discovered that two payments totaling $1.4 million had been transferred from the New York Palace to a Wachovia Bank account, which neither hotel officers nor Prince Bahar knew anything about. I believe the real reasons for the events of 1998 is the fact that there was a cash crisis within Brunei caused by the Asian financial meltdown of 19978 and the decline in the price of oil, Jefri wrote in an affidavit from his case against Derbyshire and Zaman. But by then the prince was nowhere to be seen. But now the hotel was under siege, as Jefri outlined in his affidavit: its directors had passed an order preventing their removal by him, and a former director had filed suit challenging Jefris very ownership of the New York Palace and Hotel Bel-Air. The jury awarded Zaman and Derbyshire $21 million in back wages and damages and allowed the couple to walk away not only with their money but also with their reputations intact. He met the prince after answering the phone in his North London salon near closing time one day. The plaintiff, Prince Jefri Bolkiah, Bruneis notorious royal playboy, who has probably gone through more cash than any other human being on earth, tried to convince the jury that he was extremely nave when it came to financial matters. Shopping, restaurants, enjoyed life, he replied when asked how he had spent his time while performing his seemingly minimal duties in New York. Most people believed that the sultan was running the show, and that Jefri had been forced to testify as punishment for dragging his family through years of embarrassment. Now he's worried he may soon be homeless and forced into bankruptcy. Zaida binti Pengarah Digadong Tuan Laman Awang Sulaiman, 12. Geoffrey Stewart says Zaman and Derbyshire pushed Jefri to sell the hotels and set up dummy corporations to hold the money, from which Zaman would receive a commission. Also Known As: Hassanal Bolkiah ibni Omar Ali Saifuddien III. David Dowsey (2007). He was also Chairman of BIA until removed, together with the rest of the Board, by the Sultan of Brunei on 16 July 1998. Jefri Bolkiah ibni Omar Ali Saifuddien III (born 6 November 1954), is a member of the Brunei Royal Family. suits of the same color. They were joined by two bankers from UBS Zurich. According to Derbyshire, Jefri had instructed that all these possessions be taken to Gurkha-guarded warehouses, where they would be crated and shipped to other locations, then marketed. According to Zaman and Derbyshire, the big, burly princes are true heirs to Jefris life of extravagance. December 27, 2009 5:00am. He bought mansions around the world, 1700 luxury cars, 17 aircraft, hoards of jewellery and a fleet of yachts - including a 60m superyacht he called Tits. When his son Prince Hakeem wanted to learn football, Jefri imported Then he didnt return, says Zaman. Prince Jefri was the finance minister of his oil-rich country from 1986 to 1997. The Bolkiah brothers traveled with 100-member entourages and emptied That and her natural beauty. ", "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. After that, the charge would be $500 a month, with an option to renew for 51 years. Prince Jefri did not risk visiting London where he owns St John's Lodge, a spectacular mansion hidden behind huge gates on the Inner Circle of Regent's Park, bought in 1994 for 40 million. By February 2005, Jefri had regained full control of his biggest asset, the New York Palace, and installed Zaman to represent his interests there. The sale would be a breach of the Brunei freezing order, which Derbyshire says he explicitly explained to Jefri, thinking that the deal would be off. stars Joe Montana and Herschel Walker to Brunei at a cost of Attended the Coron. Prince Jefri's son1) HE Prince Haji 'Abdu'l Hakim (born 1973), 2) HE . Hassanal Bolkiah (full name: Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar 'Ali Saifuddien Sa'adul Khairi Waddien Sultan and Yang di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam; born 15 July 1946) is the 29th and current Sultan and Yang di-Pertuan of Brunei, as well as the Prime Minister of Brunei, making him one of the last absolute monarchs. he is one of famous royal with the age 66 years old group. In true fairy-tale style, the kingdom eventually woke up, some insist at the prodding of a third Bolkiah brother, Prince Mohamed, who disdained the fast-living Jefri and his influence on the sultan. W-Stories. Warner particularly wanted Hotel Bel-Air, but it was a trinket in Jefris world, priced at only $200 million (and returning only $3 million in annual profit), whereas the Palace was priced at $600 million and had a $50 million profit. (Of Jefris alleged trickle feeding, Stewart says, He didnt need to, since he had a setup with the New York Palace that paid his company Argent enough to cover his expenses. His elder brother is the Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah. was now the hotels legal owner and that any member of management would be held liable for any payments made outside the ordinary course of business. Koenigsegg - 134 cars. It was all done through his legal advisers. Landing at midnight, Zaman went straight to the Palace and collected her belongings, even though hotel officials had called her to say she couldnt remove anything from her office unless Jefris London attorney was present. Le prince Jefri Bolkiah en tenue de polo, Sultanat de Brunei Darussalam. Vanity Fair may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. Schoolfriends contacted by the Herald on Sunday were "not at all surprised" Kelly married into royalty. All of these accusations, Derbyshire and Zaman contended, were the princes own maneuverings to pay his lawyers and his lifestyle expenses. by Brunei Shell were greatly reduced. Jaguar - 179 cars. In particular, we were concerned that documents which might exculpate us from any future allegations of wrongdoing might simply disappear, Derbyshire wrote in an affidavit. Everything is done to protect them." (Prince Jefris lawsuit claimed that it was Zaman and Derbyshire, not he, who suggested they be given power of attorney in order to work most effectively on his behalf. Nearly a decade ago, the Taranaki woman, now in . According to Derbyshire, Jefri sent Zaman and him to the wedding as his emissaries, and they sat at the family tables inside the sultans palace. Nation. Next assignment: representing the prince before the Brunei supreme court. Its very hard to move that stuff., On April 17, 2005, Jefris oldest daughter, Princess Hamidah, was married in Brunei to Jefris sisters son, her first cousin. However, the case is far from over. Zobel is the youngest daughter of Inigo Zobel (he ranked 18th on Forbes ' Philippines 50 Richest 2020) and Maricris Cardenas-Zobel. (Jefri denied employing prostitutes. ), Zaman and Derbyshire later alleged that they had unearthed documents showing that the hotel had been making large payments to individuals and companies that performed no services that they could determine. Les Princes Al-Muhtadee Billah Bolkiah et Jefri Bolkiah, deux des fils du Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah pendant la celebration des 25 annees de regne du. This wasnt necessarily a bad strategy, because soon it seemed that only a simpleton would not have noticed the blatant chicanery he was accusing these attorneys of committing. In London alone, the Manoukians charged, he kept 40 prostitutes at the Dorchester hotel and spent $34 million for the former Playboy Club at 45 Park Lanemore than four times the market price, according to the brothersso that he could house more hookers and secretly indulge his passion for gambling. Half-filipina Karraminah Clarisse del Rosario, or KC to friends, is the one of the daughters of Prince Jefri Bolkiah, brother of the current Sultan of Brunei, and Filipina Evangeline del Rosario. Pengiran Muda Besar Muhammad Jamalul Alam, Dayang Puan Jefridah binti Mohammed Louis, Pengiran Anak (Princess) Hamidah Jamalul Bolkiah, Awang Hassan Al Muklis Kiko Jefri Bolkiah. Now hes going to go and bus tables?, In October 2009, Jefri returned to Brunei, staying in a hotel until his residence was ready. Our job was to work with a group of Jefris advisers and carry out Jefris instructions. In terms of hiding money, he certainly didnt want the B.I.A. KEY POINTS: Her parents owned a corner dairy - now Claire Kelly is living the lifestyle of the rich and famous as the wife of a royal billionaire. When they arrived, a crew was waiting to help. 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. Up until March 1998 Prince Jefri enjoyed a very close relationship with the Sultan, Jefris attorneys declared in a legal filing. Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien had 10 children, six daughters and four sons, with several wives, but chose Bolkiah to succeed him from an early age. Zaman and Derbyshire say that the art was sold in Paris, where Jefri's fourth wife, the New Zealand-born Claire Kelly (who adopted the Bruneian name Madame Salma), lived with the prince in his . Why Prince Jefris family would spend $100 million to sue two lawyers for taking $23 million in graftchump change for the sultan, as Gammerman put it from the benchwas a mystery in itself. [32][35], In 2006, the Prince began legal proceedings against his former advisors, the barrister Thomas Derbyshire and his wife Faith Zaman, in both the UK and US,[36] accusing them of stealing funds from him. ), The case was settled, but the collateral damage was severe. "She had an incredible smile, she was a stunner. She was naturally beautiful and a really lovely person. And bring Faith, Derbyshire says Maggistro added. She claimed her annual salary included 5 percent of the hotels gross operating profit, a car allowance of $100,000 per year, and free use of the company credit card for personal expenses, and she showed Prince Bahars signature on her employee agreement. Why didnt they inform the court or anyone else about what they saw as Jefris alleged duplicity? 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