 Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah |
A fleet of forklifts was among assets involved in a legal stoush between the Sultan of Brunei and his younger brother.
The five-year legal battle launched by the Sultan against his brother has now ended after the Sultan admitted defeat in a contempt action that could have seen his brother jailed.
According to
The Times, Prince Jefri Bolkiah, 51, had been accused by Sultan Hassanal, 59, of embezzling GBP8 billion (USD13.9 billion) from the Brunei Investment Authority (BIA) during his 13-year tenure as Brunei's finance minister.
In May 2000, the dispute was initially resolved by an out-of-court settlement. Prince Jefri agreed to hand over GBP3 billion (USD5.2 billion) from assets sold during a four-day auction in London in 2001.
The assets, stored in 21 warehouses, included 400 Victorian lamp posts, two unused Mercedes-Benz fire engines, 16,000 tonnes of Italian marble and a fleet of forklifts.
However, the Sultan launched new court proceedings in London, where the prince spends most of his time, because the prince was still leading an extravagant lifestyle.
The Sultan and BIA wanted the prince to disclose the full scale of his wealth. The five-year legal battle had cost the Sultan GBP1 million (USD1.7 million) in fees.
A Reuters News report said BIA would not rule out fresh contempt proceedings if new evidence arose.