Published: 07 Mar 2013 08:40 GMT+01:00 | Print version
Updated: 07 Mar 2013 15:00 GMT+01:00
Authorities in Paris are to seize assets belonging to a Saudi princess to help cover the cost of an eye-watering €6 million bill she left behind on a recent, no-expense spared visit to the French capital.
A judge in Nanterre, near Paris, on Wednesday ordered the seizure of three storage units owned by Maha Al-Sudairi, so that their lavish contents can be sold to pay the staggering €1 million-a-month bill the Saudi princess left behind on her last trip to Paris, French daily Le Parisien reported.
Al-Sudairi, the former wife of the late Saudi crown prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, checked into the ‘palace’ hotel Le Shangri-La in Paris in December 2011, with her 60 attendants and assistants.
By the time she left, in June 2012, Al-Sudairi had managed to rack up the barely believable total of €6 million in unpaid bills for expensive meals, jewelry, and a luxury limo service.
The princess started by renting out the entire seventh floor of the Shangri-La in the exclusive 16th arrondissement of Paris, for her personal entourage, and hired the luxury services company 'Cinquieme Etoile' ('Fifth Star') to take care of their daily meals, provide chauffeur-driven cars and a security detail, and take care of Al-Sudairi's dirty linens.
“Every day we had about 30 cars at the ready for her and those who accompanied her,” the director of Cinquieme Etoile was quoted as saying in French daily Le Parisien. “We are still awaiting payment,” added the company's boss.
That payment was estimated to amount to €1.5 million.
The day after her husband's death on June 16th, 2012, Al-Sudairi and her people attempted an audacious night flight, but were caught by staff loading limos with luggage outside the hotel.
As a member of the Saudi royal family, Al-Sudairi – who has since returned to Saudi Arabia – is protected against prosecution by her diplomatic immunity.
However, the court in Nanterre on Wednesday agreed that the contents of three lock-ups in the French capital be seized, and put towards paying the bill for Cinquieme Etoile, along with five other companies.
Authorities are hoping there will be enough to cover the bill, with the boxes believed to contain luxury leather goods, artworks, jewelery, and clothing with an estimated worth of €10-12 million.
However, the director of Cinquieme Etoile is not holding his breath. “As far the process of getting paid goes – it's going to be long, very long,” he was quoted as saying in Le Parisien.
“We'll have to take international legal action, before the items are appraised, and then sold at auction,” said the company's director.
Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris was evacuated for the second time in two days on Wednesday when a topless feminist staged a mock suicide in front of the altar the day after far-right historian Dominique Venner shot himself in the church. READ () »
France is to shell out millions of euros on increasing security around its embassies in Africa and the Middle East, the French foreign office announced on Wednesday. The move comes after a car bomb attack on its Libyan embassy last month. READ () »
There is no egalité when it comes to France’s ruling class, which is dominated by an elite clique where a ‘jobs for the boys’ culture prevails, argues British author Peter Gumbel in his new book. Here he tells The Local how this elitism is holding France back. READ () »
Boos rang out at the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday for a blood-spattered revenge tale starring Ryan Gosling as a US fugitive running a Bangkok drugs racket and Kristin Scott Thomas as a cross between "Lady Macbeth and Donatella Versace." READ () »
The fight by French workers against Britain-based steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal has inspired a new online game in which strikers can attack police. The game is called "Kill Mittal", despite its creators insisting it is not designed to incite violence. READ () »
French police fear a gang of robbers is specifically targeting wealthy women in Paris after the second victim in a matter of weeks was kidnapped and forced to hand over tens of thousands of euros worth of valuables. READ () »
The French President François Hollande’s bid to clean up French politics suffered an early setback on Wednesday when one of his parliamentary deputies was jailed for embezzling public money. READ () »
The French government is planning a controversial change in the law to allow more university courses to be taught entirely in English, in a bid to attract foreign students. Author Frederic Werst, one of a group of writers against the project tells The Local why the idea is "deluded". READ () »
A highly contentious proposal to allow more courses at French universities to be taught in English will be discussed in the French parliament today as the minister behind the plan slams the “hypocrisy” of those opposing it. READ () »
French prosecutors investigating corruption are set to decide this week whether to charge IMF chief Christine Lagarde over her handling of a row that resulted in a €400 million payout being paid to disgraced businessman Bernard Tapie. READ () »
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
More news from Sweden at thelocal.se
More news from Germany at thelocal.de
More news from Switzerland at thelocal.ch
Your comments about this article:
The comments below have not been moderated in advance and are not produced by The Local unless clearly stated. Readers are responsible for the content of their own comments. Comments that breach our terms and conditions will be removed.