Brunei court rejects big-spending prince's appeal

KUALA LUMPUR - A campaign by tiny, oil-rich Brunei to force an exiled prince to hand over mansions and hotels at some of the world's best addresses picked up speed on Monday, after a court threw out his clutch of appeals against the action.

The state investment arm said Brunei's appeal court had upheld an order by the kingdom's top judge requiring its former boss, Prince Jefri, to stick to a settlement pact he signed in May 2000.

Brunei has been demanding the prince return more of the billions of dollars he is accused of squandering while head of the Brunei Investment Agency (BIA).

"Prince Jefri has failed in his latest attempt to avoid complying with the terms of the out-of-court settlement he reached with the BIA and the government in May 2000," the agency said in a statement.

Prince Jefri, younger brother of the king, was required to transfer to the agency assets that included prime property such as the New York Palace Hotel and the Bel-Air Hotel in the United States, and 3-5, Place Vendome in France, the agency said. The prince was reported in the British press to be still living the high life, with homes in London, New York and Paris. He was sacked as agency head in 1998 after his conglomerate, Amedeo, collapsed under massive losses.

"The BIA has consistently maintained that Prince Jefri had no defence to the BIA's claim to enforce the settlement," the agency said, adding that Prince Jefri's application to appeal to the Privy Council of the United Kingdom had also been rejected.

"The Court of Appeal's decision has vindicated that position."

Other assets Prince Jefri was required to hand over included diamonds, paintings, jewellery, works of art and assets in Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines and Japan, among other places.

The southeast Asian kingdom of Brunei, one of the world's few remaining absolute monarchies, is a country of fewer than 400,000 people and sits on the northern edge of the vast island of Borneo.

- REUTERS