Sultan of Brunei wins billion-pound feud

The most expensive family feud in world history took a dramatic turn yesterday when the Sultan of Brunei won a court battle to force his younger brother, who lives in exile in London, to hand over billions of pounds in assets. London's Privy Council – which still sits as the highest court of appeal for the former British colony - ordered Prince Jefri, 51, to hand over his London home back to Brunei.

The 40-room house in Regent's Park is worth £50m, and considered one of the most magnificent private residences in Britain. The Prince must also relinquish the five-star New York Palace Hotel in Manhattan, mansions in Paris and Singapore, plus cash and jewels.
 
One of the richest men in the world, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, 60, has spent the past decade fighting his brother, ever since allegations that Jefri embezzled £8bn during the 13 years when he was Finance Minister for the oil and gas-rich state. The pair have not spoken for three years.

The Privy Council upheld a 2000 out-of-court settlement in which Jefri agreed to hand over £3bn to the Brunei Investment Agency (BIA), which is controlled by the Sultan.
 
Following the 2000 ruling, Jefri held a four-day auction in London in which he sold off 200 Victorian wrought iron lamp posts, two Mercedes-Benz fire engines, a flight simulator, roomfuls of Baccarat crystal and several hundred Louis XIV gilt chairs among other assets. In the end, however, he refused to complete the return of the assets, claiming that the Sultan had reneged on the deal by repossessing properties in Brunei that he had agreed the prince should retain.

Jefri is not giving up after yesterday's Privy Council ruling. A spokesman says he plans to fight the ruling in each country were his assets are affected. He has a powerful enemy, however: his brother the Sultan has rewritten Brunei's constitution, which now declares: "His Majesty the Sultan... can do no wrong in either his personal or any official capacity." ·