Lawyer faces shedding £4m London house after being sued by Saudi princess

A millionaire ‘magic circle’ lawyer who sailed the seas on a £17million superyacht faces shedding his £4million London home after being sued by a Saudi princess.

Ronald Gibbs has been locked in authorized ‘warfare’ with the Saudi royals after agreeing to arrange and handle a $25million funding fund for Princess Deema Bint Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in 2011.

Over subsequent years, the previous Linklaters associate sank the cash into shares in a boat-building firm he managed, a €3.3million condominium in Montenegro and a £17million 40-metre superyacht, which he himself sailed, the High Court heard.

Mr Gibbs and the Saudi royals reached a settlement settlement in 2018, beneath which he was obliged to start promoting the property and return the princess’ funding. 

Princess Deema is now suing him, claiming Mr Gibbs has nonetheless ‘not paid a penny’ of what he owes and is searching for an order on the market of his £4million home in London to fulfill the £2.2million interim damages and prices invoice he at the moment owes.

Mr Gibbs claims many of the helpful curiosity in the home which he purchased in 2012 is owned by his ex-wife and youngsters.

The court docket heard that Mr Gibbs was an asset finance lawyer who rose to turn out to be a associate at Linklaters, one of many prestigious prime 5 ‘magic circle’ London industrial authorized corporations.

Independently, he agreed to handle the $25million funding pot handed to Princess Deema by her father, former Saudi defence minister Sultan bin Abdulaziz, on his loss of life in 2011.

The cash was in the end invested in a graceful condominium on the Regent Hotel in Porto, Montenegro, superyacht firm Silver Arrows Marine Limited and a £17million customised 40-metre Sunseeker 131 superyacht, named Elysium after the abode of the blessed useless, a fictional realm of preferrred happiness from Greek mythology.

The firm, whose previous tasks have included collaborating with Mercedes Benz on a singular yacht primarily based on the strains of one in all their vehicles, is managed by skilled yachtsman Mr Gibbs, who has additionally taken the helm of Elysium.

Princess Deema and her brother HRH Prince Khaled Bin Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud have now complained that Mr Gibbs did not liquidate the property and return the princess’ hundreds of thousands after being first requested to take action in 2013.

Simon Atrill KC, for the princess, mentioned Mr Gibbs had in 2018 agreed to liquidate the funding portfolio by promoting the property, however failed to take action.

After abstract judgement was entered in opposition to him for breach of the settlement, he was ordered to pay £582,077.49 interim damages and £1.64million prices to the princess and her legal professionals.

But by 2021, he had nonetheless not liquidated the investments, the High Court heard, resulting in the princess suing him for breach of the 2018 settlement.

That identical 12 months, Mr Gibbs was hit with a worldwide freezing order and in May 2022 had judgement entered in opposition to him in relation to breaching the settlement settlement.

Mr Atrill is now asking High Court choose John Linwood to drive Mr Gibbs to promote a £4million home in Kings Road, Richmond, and repay the payments with the proceeds. 

He informed the choose Mr Gibbs has ‘by no means repaid a penny’ of the cash regardless of ‘accepting his obligation to take action…and having the means to take action’.

In relation to the property on the centre of the declare, he continued: ‘In 2021, Mr Gibbs mentioned – together with by means of sworn affidavit and thru his solicitors – that he owned the property 100 per cent beneficially.

‘Mr Gibbs, an skilled solicitor, now seeks to disclaim that that is what he actually meant.

‘On 6 October 2022, 4 days earlier than the listening to of the appliance to make closing the interim charging orders on the property, Mrs Gibbs – Mr Gibbs’ spouse from whom he has been separated since 2006 – emailed Princess Deema’s solicitors to say that, on the day that Mr Gibbs bought the property in 2012, he granted a 50 per cent helpful curiosity to Mrs Gibbs and a 25 per cent helpful curiosity to their three kids.

‘Three days later, Mrs Gibbs circulated images of that purported declaration of belief, dated 12 July 2012. At the listening to the next day, Mr Gibbs said that he has at finest a 25 per cent helpful curiosity within the property.

‘This has now turn out to be Mr Gibbs’ case in these order on the market proceedings.’

The barrister mentioned that Mr Gibbs and his ex, who has been joined as a defendant within the case, ‘have been requested to supply the unique model of the purported declaration of belief…so that it may very well be submitted for professional evaluation in circumstances the place its authenticity was disputed.

‘However… the doc was then mysteriously destroyed shortly earlier than this trial, and so was not supplied for inspection,’ he informed the choose.

Mr Gibbs and his ex-wife Sandra Gibbs are representing themselves at trial.

Mrs Gibbs informed the choose: ‘I can not discover the unique belief deed, however have supplied licensed copies,’ including that she had stored it ‘protected in a drawer,’ however that it had nonetheless been misplaced.

Mr Gibbs, making submissions, informed the choose to not count on him to have ‘authorized superpowers’ due to his illustrious former job, however to deal with him like another litigant in particular person, including that he had retired in 2006 and are available off the solicitors’ register in 2016.

In the listening to earlier this 12 months, Mr Gibbs had claimed the prices and damages orders would spoil him, saying: ‘This is warfare in opposition to me.’

Mr Gibbs claimed he was ‘dwelling hand to mouth’ as a result of freezing order imposed on him in 2021 and not has management over the yacht or entry to the Montenegro condominium.

The claims have been disputed by Mr Atrill. Judgement was reserved.