Billionaire Saudi prince loses commission fight over Gaddafi airliner

Consultant Daad Sharab said Prince Al-Waleed Bin Talal Bin Abdul-Aziz Al-Saud owed her about £6.5m

Prince Al-Waleed Bin Talal Bin Abdul-Aziz Al-Saud (PA)

A billionaire Saudi royal today lost a High Court fight with a Jordanian businesswoman.

Businessman Prince Al-Waleed Bin Talal Bin Abdul-Aziz Al-Saud, who owns The Savoy hotel in London, became embroiled in a dispute after selling an airliner to former Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.

Consultant Daad Sharab sued, claiming that the prince owed her about £6.5 million commission for the part she played in the airliner deal.

The prince disagreed.

Judge Mr Justice Peter Smith ruled against the prince today after a hearing in London.

Mrs Sharab said Prince Al-Waleed agreed to pay the commission in 2005 following a meeting in Col Gaddafi's tent in Libya.

Prince Al-Waleed disputed her claim, at a trial in London earlier this summer, and denied that any agreement was made for a "specific commission".

The judge said the dispute turned on whose evidence he accepted.

He said both the prince and Mrs Sharab had given evidence, and he said he had "overwhelmingly concluded" that he preferred Mrs Sharab's case.

Mrs Sharab said after the ruling that she was relieved and added: "Today's decision has reinforced by belief in the fairness and impartiality of the English courts."

PA