Prince Alwaleed releases papers to refute Ibiza rape claims

Saudi Arabia’s Prince Alwaleed has released detailed records that he claims show he could not have been in Ibiza in 2008, following allegations that a woman was raped on his yacht moored off the island in August of that that year.

The case against the prince was shelved by a court, but was last week reopened by a Spanish judge following a successful appeal by the claimant’s lawyers.

According to media reports, a 20-year-old model, identified only by her middle name Soroya, filed a police complaint in August 2008. She claimed the prince had raped her on a charted yacht, Taruma, after she was drugged. She said she had been invited to the yacht after attending an Ibiza nightclub.

A judge on the Balearic island of Ibiza ordered the case closed in May 2010 due to lack of evidence, but it was re-opened following an appeal.

Prince Alwaleed, named by Forbes magazine as one of the world’s richest men, last night released documents that purport to prove his whereabouts in August 2008.

Seven separate documents were released by the prince’s private office, including:

*A detailed schedule of his itinerary between August 7 and August 13, 2008, during which time the prince, accompanied by a large delegation, visited Cannes in France.

*A statement from his bodyguard Joaquim Silva to verify he was in France between August 6 and August 28, and did not leave the country

*Passport stamps, showing the time of his arrival and departure from France

* A statement from Eric Aceto, the manager of the Carlton Hotel in Cannes, verifying that the prince had dinner there each night between August 7 to August 16, 2008

* A statement from Michel Partenet, the manager of the Restaurant Le Vollier in Cannes, confirming he dined there each evening from August 7 to August 12, 2008

*A statement from Captain Peter Evans, the captain of his yacht Kingdom 5-KR, verifying the yacht did not leave French waters between August 6 and August 16, 2008

*A statement from his driver Michel Ledouble to verify his itinerary.

[To read the full document, click here]

A spokeswoman for the prince said: “As the records show, he was in France in multiple public places with many friends and business associates and was accompanied by French security officers who can confirm his presence. Moreover, HRH was surrounded by his family including his wife HH Princess Ameerah, his daughter HRH Princess Reem and his granddaughter Princess Sara…..while the Prince is a committed advocate for women and has empathy for any assault victim,  he simply was not present [in Ibiza].

She added that HRH had never charted a yacht by the name of ‘Turama’, and that this could be reconfirmed by Turama’s charter logs.

Prince Alwaleed is the second largest shareholder in Rupert Murdock’s News Corp, and is the prince is the largest individual stakeholder in Citigroup. He was named as the world’s richest Arab by Arabian Business magazine in Dec 2010, with assets of $20.4bn.