A United Arab Emirates resident, who boasted about his “work and life with the Royal family of Abu Dhabi”, has allegedly cheated New Delhi’s Leela Palace Hotel of nearly Rs 24 lakh and stole silverware and a mother of pearl tray from the hotel room.

Leela Hotel’s management, in their complaint, stated that the man, identified as Md Sharif, said he lived in UAE and worked with the Office of Sheikh Falah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a member of the royal family of Abu Dhabi. He told the staff that he worked with the Sheikh personally, and was in India for some official work.

According to police, he would talk to the staff and tell them about his “work and life in the UAE”. To achieve their belief, Sharif spoke concerning the royal household to look “influential”.

A report in Indian Express quoted police as saying that Sharif produced a fake business card, UAE resident card and other documents, which are now being checked. The complainant said the accused stayed at room number 427 at the five-star hotel from August 1 to November 20 last year and left without informing anyone.

“One of our in-house guests… has run off from the hotel on 20th November 2022 with valuables and also without settling his outstanding bills… and has cheated The Leela Palace New Delhi of amount worth INR 23,46,413/- The guest checked into the hotel with a fake business card and had impersonated as an important functionary of the government of United Arab Emirates,” reads the FIR in the case.

The report stated that the total bill of the room and other amenities added up to Rs 35 lakh. Police said Sharif paid almost Rs 11.5 lakh to stay at the hotel for a longer period but later left without paying a majority of the amount.

“We don’t think his ID cards are genuine and he is not related to the royal family in Abu Dhabi. We are checking if he has done this before. He paid part of the bill in August-September last year and later gave the hotel a cheque of Rs 20 lakh. The cheque was submitted in November and it was found that it bounced due to insufficient funds,” a senior police officer was quoted as saying.

The accused allegedly fled the hotel on November 20 around 1 pm. “This seems to be completely pre-planned since we were under the impression that by 22nd November 2022, the hotel will get dues cleared through the cheque he had submitted. This clearly signifies that Mr Sharif had malafide intentions and a clear intent to deceive hotel authorities…” said the complainant.

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