Auction Nets $7.8 Million, Miffs Prince

A marathon auction of assets from a bankrupt company headed by Brunei’s Prince Jefri Bolkiah roared to a finish Thursday, undeterred by a royal reprimand from the prodigal prince in London.

The six-day event was intended to partly reimburse creditors for some of the billions they are owed. It reaped more money in its final hours than in all the previous days combined--about $4.2 million of the $7.8-million final tally.

The windfall stemmed from the sale of about 7,716 tons of marble slabs and imported Italian machinery at a factory owned by Jefri’s flagship Amedeo Development Corp. The prince also owns the Bel-Air Hotel in Los Angeles.

Jefri, the younger brother of Sultan Sir Hassanal Bolkiah, broke his silence late Wednesday, complaining through his press agent that the auction was conducted without any consultation with him.

Brunei media quoted the agent as saying that the auction was “not a sale by him, nor does it reflect on his own financial position.”

The statement also claimed that the sale would come under heavy scrutiny by Brunei’s high court.

But the comments were largely ignored by auction managers, who estimated that the event had drawn more than 2,000 bidders, some of whom had traveled from neighboring Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.

Two fire engines, chandeliers, ornamental lampposts, simulators for a Comanche attack helicopter, an Airbus A-340 and a Formula 1 racing car are still available through private bids.

The sum barely chips at the mountain of debt that Amedeo owes at least 300 creditors, who are clamoring for billions of dollars lost after the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis.

Amedeo crumbled under Jefri during the regional economic turmoil, nearly wiping out the wealth that this tiny country on the South China Sea island of Borneo amassed from oil and gas reserves.