Bahrain Mirror (Exclusive): Middle East Monitor website said that a member of the Bahraini royal family is being sued for refusing to pay a staggering $33 million; a fee he is alleged to have agreed with an Egyptian businessman for arranging meetings with Bollywood actors.

Hamad Isa Ali Al Khalifa, a cousin of the king of Bahrain and a Bollywood fan, is alleged to have reneged on an agreement he had with the businessman to set up meetings with 26 Bollywood actors, the Financial Times reported. It is claimed that Al Khalifa agreed to pay $1.5 million for each meeting with a film star plus a $500,000 bonus payment for every third meeting.

Egyptian businessman, Ahmed Adel Abdallah Ahmed, claims that he struck a deal with Al Khalifa to arrange meetings with 26 Bollywood stars whose names were handed to him by Al Khalifa.

According to a claim form filed at the High Court in London, the two men struck an agreement but Ahmed claims that he has only been paid $3 million of the total $33 million that was promised.

The high-profile case is expected to start tomorrow with the Hamad Al Khalifa due to testify later in the week along with his personal assistant.

According to the Financial Times no Bollywood stars are due to give evidence in the civil trial which is scheduled to last five days.

Ahmed claimed that he had arranged several meetings between his client and Bollywood stars including two of its most famous actors, Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan in Mumbai in early 2016. However, Ahmed alleges that the sheikh then backed out of their agreement and instructed another agent to arrange meetings with 13 other Bollywood stars.

Al Khalifa denies handing Ahmed a list of 26 names but agrees that the businessman had arranged five meetings with Bollywood stars.

The High Court is said to have ruled last year that the case could be tried in London rather than Bahrain because Ahmed had business connections in the capital.

Arabic Version