Saudi ambassador’s lavish lifestyle laid bare

Court papers filed in London give an insight into the colossal spending power of Prince Mohammed bin Nawwaf bin Abdul Aziz, the Saudi ambassador to London, who is a nephew of King Abdullah. The Prince's taste for luxury has come to light because his former private secretary, Walid El Hage, has sued the Prince for £3m which he claims to have spent on the Prince's behalf without being reimbursed.
Because the Prince ignored the High Court hearing, judgment was awarded against him by default - and El Hage now wants his £3m. But the Prince is seeking to have the court judgment set aside so that he can reach an "amicable" out-of-court settlement with El Hage.
Bills detailed in the court documents include those for a thermal night-vision kit for the Prince's Hummer H2, a selection of handguns including a £4,000-plus Beretta pistol, two Arab karaoke machines, and a large selection of watches and jewellery.
Walid El Hage, who was a confidante to the ambassador and his father for many years, is thought to be concerned about the status of the Prince's diplomatic immunity under which foreign ambassadors and their families can escape prosecution in London on a wide range of offences - refusing to pay the congestion charge being a favourite.
But El Hage claims he was picking up the bills for the Prince on trips they made together to Rome, Vienna, Casablanca and Paris in 2004-05, before the Prince's appointment as ambassador in December 2005.
Among the many luxury items for which the court was shown invoices were a crocodile Birkin bag listed at €18,770, a specialist off-road rally car, the Wildcat African Raid, built in Derbyshire for £94,000, and a limited-edition ST Dupont lighter, decorated with a mother-of-pearl and platinum Taj Mahal, at $1,769.
Unexplained was an invoice from Morocco: "Hotel extra suite expenses, rooms for girls etc $1,465... girls party night 5 $2,500... Moroccan sweets arrangement to take away $250... HRH cash in hand $20,000". ·