Bahrain royal shocked at being sued for refusing to meet 26 Bollywood stars

Agencies
November 20, 2018

London, Nov 20: A Bahraini royal told England's High Court on Monday he was "astonished" at being sued over an alleged deal for access to Bollywood stars.

Sheikh Hamad Isa Ali Al Khalifa is alleged to have struck a contract with Egyptian entrepreneur Ahmed Adel Abdallah Ahmed to pay for meetings with 26 top actors from the Indian film industry.

The deal was allegedly worth £35 million ($45 million, 39 million euros) and Ahmed is suing the royal for £16 million he claims he is owed in fees and costs.

Sheikh Hamad said he has a "lifelong passion" for Bollywood cinema and wanted to meet stars, including Shah Rukh Khan, Ranveer Singh and Aishwarya Rai.

In his witness statement, the royal said he paid Ahmed about £2.7 million for meetings with Bollywood idols, but only because he "wanted to please him", rather than due to any contractual obligations.

"When I learned of the claims that Mr Ahmed was making against me in these proceedings, I was astonished," he said.

"I was grateful to (Mr Ahmed) for helping me to meet four top Bollywood artists.

"I expressed my gratitude frequently by words and my gestures: in total, he received around £2.7 million from me in relation to these meetings.

"I considered this sum was comfortably in excess of the amount that he had incurred in costs and expenses, including in fees for the Bollywood artists.

"I do not think that this gives him licence to demand vast sums of money to which he is not entitled."

Ahmed claims that, during a phone conversation when Sheikh Hamad was in London in January 2016, the pair made an "oral agreement" that he would be paid more than £1 million for each meeting, plus a bonus of more than £350,000 after every third meeting.

Sheikh Hamad contends the alleged arrangement is "entirely fictitious".

The hearings continue at the High Court in London.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
October 28,2024

Bengaluru: The Enforcement Directorate on Monday undertook fresh searches in connection with the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) linked money laundering case in which it has booked Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, official sources said.

About seven-eight premises in Bengaluru and Mysuru are being covered, the sources said.

The federal agency had conducted the first round of raids in this case on October 18 when it searched the MUDA office in Mysuru and some other locations.

It also questioned some lower-rank officials of the MUDA at its Bengaluru zonal office last week.

The ED has filed a enforcement case information report (ECIR) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to book the CM and others taking cognisance of a Lokayukta FIR.

Siddaramaiah is facing Lokayukta and ED probes into alleged irregularities in the allotment of 14 sites to his wife by the MUDA.

Siddaramaiah's wife Parvathi B M, brother-in-law Mallikarjuna Swamy, Devaraju -- from whom Mallikarjuna Swamy purchased land and gifted it to Parvathi -- and others are named as other accused in the case by the two probe agencies.

Parvathi was recently questioned by the Lokayukta.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
October 22,2024

floodbengaluru.jpg

Bengaluru, Oct 22: Heavy rainfall has once again turned Bengaluru’s streets into rivers, with large-scale waterlogging paralyzing India’s IT capital. As residents brace for more storms, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasts a day filled with thunderstorms, predicting minimum temperatures around 21°C.

"Bengaluru is expected to see a cloudy sky today, with light to moderate rainfall and thunderstorms impacting both urban and rural regions," stated the IMD. The maximum temperature is likely to reach 29°C, while the minimum will hover at 21°C.

Waterlogged streets have significantly slowed down traffic, with major bottlenecks reported along Sarjapura Road near the Wipro and RBD Layout junctions, according to police reports.

The flooding has sparked fresh criticism from opposition parties, who have seized the opportunity to target the Congress-led state government’s handling of the city's infrastructure.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
October 29,2024

Mangaluru: A fraud case involving ₹43.32 lakh has been reported at the CEN station, where an individual was deceived under the guise of investment opportunities. 

The victim was promised high returns from stock and Initial Public Offering (IPO) transactions.

According to the complaint, the victim received a WhatsApp message on September 25 from an unknown sender identifying himself as Manju Pachisi, an Assistant at IIFL Securities Limited. 

The sender encouraged the victim to invest by sharing an online link, claiming significant profits could be earned from stock and IPO transactions.

Additionally, another link was sent via the Telegram app. Trusting the information, the victim transferred a total of ₹43.32 lakh in phases between September 26 and October 23. 

However, when he attempted to withdraw his funds, he was informed that he needed to pay a 25 percent commission. Realizing he had been duped, the victim promptly filed a complaint with the authorities.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.