Sultan of Brunei ends legal battle with brother
The Sultan of Brunei has admitted defeat and withdrawn an attempt to have his brother, Prince Jefri, jailed in Britain in a family feud over £8bn.
Prince Jefri Bolkiah (51) had been accused by his brother, Sultan Hassanal (59), of embezzling £8bn from the Brunei Investment Authority (BIA) during his 13 years as Finance Minister, reports The Times. The dispute was resolved with an out-of-court settlement in 2000, in which Prince Jefri agreed to hand over £3bn of his assets. However, the Sultan and the BIA then alleged that Prince Jefris extravagant lifestyle was being funded by undisclosed assets. The Sultan began new court proceedings in London to try to force him to disclose the scale of his wealth. But the Prince argued that disclosure would be a violation of his right to privacy under the European Convention on Human Rights. The Court of Appeal last year dismissed the Princes plea, opening the way for contempt proceedings that could have led to a jail sentence. But last week the Sultan ended the legal battle and agreed to pay costs. Full report in The Times