Leela Palace Hotel scammed of Rs 24 by ’employee of UAE royal family’; stolen silver, also mother-of-pearl

A United Arab Emirates resident who boasted of “working and living in the royal family of Abu Dhabi” has allegedly defrauded the Leela Palace Hotel in New Delhi of nearly Rs 2.4 million and stole silverware and mother-of-pearl trays from the hotel room.

The man, identified as Md Sharif, said he lived in the UAE and worked in the office of Sheikh Falah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a member of Abu Dhabi’s royal family, Leela Hotel management said in the complaint.He told staff he worked personally with the chief and was at India For some serious work.

He would speak to staff and tell them about his “work and life in the UAE”, according to police. To win their trust, Sharif spoke of the royal family looking “influential”.

a report Indian Express Citing police sources, Sharif presented a fake business card, UAE resident card and other documents and is currently being checked. The complainant claimed that the defendant stayed in Room 427 of the five-star hotel from August 1 to November 20 last year and left without informing anyone.

“One of our in-house guests… fled the hotel on 20th November 2022 with his valuables and did not settle his outstanding bill… and defrauded The Leela Palace New Delhi of INR 23,46,413 /-Guests checked into the hotel using false business cards and impersonating important officials of the Government of the United Arab Emirates,” the FIR wrote in the case.

The total bill for rooms and other amenities totaled Rs 3.5 lakh, the report said. Police said Sharif paid nearly 1.15 lakh rupiah to stay longer at the hotel but left without paying most of the amount.

“We don’t think his ID card is genuine and he has no connection to the Abu Dhabi royal family. We are checking to see if he has done this before. He paid part of the bill last August-September and later gave the hotel one A check of Rs 2 million. The check was lodged in November and it was found to be returned due to insufficient funds,” said a senior police officer.

The accused allegedly fled the hotel at around 1pm on November 20. “This appears to have been completely pre-planned as we were under the impression that by 22 November 2022 the hotel would have cleared dues via checks submitted by him. This is a clear indication of Mr Sharif’s malice and apparent deceit to the hotel authorities with the intent to…” the complainant said.

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