Qatar Royals Behind “Lawless” Hotel Plot: Irish Investor

An Irish hotel investor has accused members of the royal family in Qatar of failing to pay him for work done for the The Maybourne Beverly Hills hotel.

Businessman Patrick McKillen filed a federal lawsuit against the Qatari royals and associates accusing them of racketeering and failing to provide compensation for work for the 205-room luxury hotel at 225 North Canon Drive, the Beverly Hills Courier reported.

McKillen, of Dublin-based Hume Street Management Consultants, is seeking $20 million in damages.

In the complaint, attorneys for McKillen describe a “lawless plot” concocted by the defendants to deliberately withhold payment from McKillen while continuing to make use of his services.

McKillen’s lawsuit alleges a seven-year international fraud scheme orchestrated by members of the Qatari royal family. The suit claims McKillen was deceived and denied compensation for extensive work on several luxury hotel projects, including the Maybourne Beverly Hills.

Named defendants include Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani (HBK), his daughter Sheikha Lulwah and Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani (HBJ). Business associates Michele Faissola and Marc Socker are also accused of acting as agents for the royals in the alleged scheme.

“This complaint alleges in detail how Qatar’s former Emir (HBK) and Prime Minister (HBJ), along with other senior members of the Royal family and their executives, have defrauded their business partners around the world and used the assets they control, like the Quintet Bank, to retaliate against and intimidate those who fight back,” Michael Gottlieb, an attorney for McKillen, said in a statement.

“Mr. McKillen will pursue this suit until the Qatari Royals pay him what his company rightfully earned.”

It’s not clear if the Beverly Hills Courier tried to contact representatives of the Qatar royal family for a response.

In the lawsuit, McKillen, who reportedly co-owns a whiskey distillery with U2 frontman Bono, said he and his team “undertook a massive redevelopment effort” on the Beverly Hills hotel — where rooms go for more than $1,000 a night — over a two-year period, but were not paid millions of dollars allegedly owed for the work done, according to the Los Angeles Times.

McKillen, who helped develop the Maybourne Hotel Group following its evolution from the Savoy Group in 2004, sold his stake in 2015 but remained involved in hotel development. According to the complaint, the fraud began when HBK expressed interest in acquiring the Montage Beverly Hills in 2019 to convert it into a Maybourne property.

Socker and Sheikha Lulwah reportedly approached McKillen to consult on the purchase. He traveled to Qatar in October 2019 to discuss the project aboard HBK’s yacht, agreeing to manage and redevelop the hotel.

Following HBK’s purchase in December 2019, McKillen undertook substantial work through January 2022 — transitioning branding, redesigning suites, overseeing budgeting, and navigating Beverly Hills planning requirements.

McKillen says he began seeking compensation in June 2021, but was repeatedly rebuffed by Faissola and Sheikha Lulwah. The suit alleges that the defendants never intended to pay McKillen, concealed that decision, and continued benefiting from his services under false pretenses.

The complaint also claims McKillen was similarly denied payment for his work on the Maybourne Riviera, Îlot Saint-Germain in France, and a Manhattan residence owned by HBJ. Additional legal actions have been filed in the U.K., France and California.— Dana Bartholomew