Credit Suisse takes Saudi prince to court over failure to repay superyacht refinancing loans

Credit Suisse is taking a Saudi prince to court, after he allegedly failed to repay the bank around $78m in interest and loans he took out to refinance his 82m (269ft) superyacht and mansion property in the UK.

In a lawsuit filed in November, 2020 in a London Court Credit Suisse alleged that two companies defaulted on a pair of loans it provided for refinancing the luxury purchases. Prince Fahad Bin Sultan, governor of Saudi Arabia’s Tabuk province, is the guarantor for the loans and the ultimate beneficiary of the assets, according to the Swiss bank. 

The Cayman Islands-registered motor yacht Sarafsa is worth about $65.5 million, according to the court filing.

Credit Suisse says a British Virgin Islands-based special-purpose vehicle defaulted on a loan facility agreed in 2020 for the yacht by failing to pay interest, fees and costs. 

The bank also said it failed to provide evidence that the prince held liquid assets of at least $25m “free of encumbrances,” which was in breach of their agreement. That prompted Credit Suisse to write to the prince in November demanding that he pay the near $42m it says it’s owed.