Man dupes 5-star hotel with link to UAE royal; notches up ₹35 lakh bill and flees

A man duped a luxury hotel in the capital by claiming that he was an employee of the Abu Dhabi royal family and notched up a bill of ₹35 lakh before doing the disappearing act. He had stayed in the Leela Palace hotel in the capital for four months with his fake identity.

A complaint has been filed by the Leela Palace management on Saturday (January 14) with the Delhi police against Mohammed Sharif, who has been charged with fraud and theft.

On August 1, when Sharif checked into the hotel he had told the staff that he was a UAE resident and worked closely with Sheikh Falah bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the Abu Dhabi royal family. According to Sheikh Falah’s twitter account, he is chairman of the Ghantoot Racing and Polo Club.

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Sharif reportedly said he worked with Sheikh Falah and was in India on official business. He had even submitted a business card, a UAE resident card and other documents to corroborate his story. Moreover, he also spent time chatting with the hotel staff about his life in the UAE. But, when he left the hotel on November 20, he even swiped expensive items from his room like silver cutlery and a pearl tray.

The police suspect that his documents are fake and are investigating, said news reports. They are scouring through CCTV footage to be able to identify the man.

In his two and a half month stay, Sharif racked up a bill of ₹35 lakh for the room and services and had paid only ₹11.5 lakh. However, he did not pay the rest of his bill and gave the staff a cheque for ₹20 lakh on the day he fled the hotel.