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Monday, July 1, 2013

BILLIONAIRE SAUDI PRINCE GRILLED IN UK COURT OVER GADDAFI JET

Abraham - July 01, 2013
LONDON - A billionaire Saudi prince told a London court on Monday that "each dollar counts" as he was cross-examined over his sale of an opulent private jet to Libya's former leader Muammar Gaddafi.
The appearance by Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, a nephew of Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, was a rare instance of a senior Saudi royal being subjected to a hostile public grilling.
The prince is being sued by Daad Sharab, a Jordanian businesswoman who says she was not paid a promised $10 million commission for brokering the sale of the jet to Gaddafi, which was completed in 2006 for $120 million after years of delays.
At number 26 on the Forbes global ranking of billionaires, Prince Alwaleed is worth $20 billion according to the US magazine and closer to $30 billion by his own estimate.
At one point when asked in court about a $500,000 commission he had paid Sharab for a previous Libyan deal, it was suggested to him that this was a small amount relative to his fortune.
"Each dollar counts for me," the prince responded.
He told the court he had asked Sharab to "open the door" to Gaddafi over the jet sale but had never agreed a figure for her commission. He said he did not pay her anything in the end since in the course of the sale, she had "moved to the Libyan camp".
The prince was addressed as "Your Highness" by his lawyer and by Judge Peter Smith, but his royal status did not shield him from the robust questioning style of Sharab's lawyer, Clive Freedman, who accused him of minimizing Sharab's role, contradicting himself and evading questions.
"Would you please answer my question? I have asked it twice and I will ask it again," Freedman told the prince at one point.


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