Migrant hotel magnate Goldfinger to stand trial for alleged fraud charged with misappropriating £150k from a water company.
Businessman Faces Fraud Charges Over Alleged Water Bill Manipulation
Sheikh Abid Gulzar, a prominent businessman who owns a number of flash hotels and two piers on the Sussex coast, is facing multiple fraud charges related to alleged defrauding of Castle Water, a utility firm supplying water services.
The charges, brought by Castle Water, include around ten counts of fraud with a total value estimated at approximately £150,000. The fraud allegations center on water bills that should have been paid to Castle Water, and the case has proceeded to trial, highlighting the serious nature of the claims.
The case involves hotels in the Eastbourne and Hailsham areas, with some of the counts relating to alleged wrongdoings at the Boship Lions Hotel in Hailsham, Sussex. Sheikh Abid Gulzar disclosed he was being paid £15,000-a-week for his 45 rooms with two beds each at the Boship Lions Hotel, which is an original 1690s countryside house, featuring a swimming pool, sauna, steam room, gym, and in-house cocktail bar.
The trial for Sheikh Abid Gulzar was fixed at Hove Trial Centre, and a three-week trial for both him and another individual, Manasdeep Singh, is scheduled for September next year. However, the exact date for Sheikh Abid Gulzar's trial has not been specified.
It is worth noting that the Boship Lions Hotel was used as an asylum hotel between 2022 and 2023, but the contract was terminated shortly after a resident took his own life. The Home Office could not comment on the ongoing criminal case involving Sheikh Abid Gulzar.
Sheikh Abid Gulzar, who earned the nickname 'Goldfinger' after buying a gold Rolls-Royce and three gold Tesla cars, was approached for comment but did not respond. The termination of the contract for the Boship Lions Hotel as an asylum hotel is not explained in the provided information.
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- The alleged fraud case against Sheikh Abid Gulzar, a wealthy businessman, involves financial discrepancies related to water bills for his hotels, which are considered general-news.
- The criminal charges against Sheikh Abid Gulzar and Manasdeep Singh, another individual, cover a series of counts that involve business-related activities, specifically fraud and manipulation of water bills, classified under crime-and-justice.
