Batley designer denies Michael Jackson fragrance fraud

• easterneye.biz Staff
• 16 August, 2021

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By: easterneye.biz Staff

A fashion designer who claimed to own a bottle of perfume made by Michael Jackson worth £44m has denied two counts of fraud, one count of possession of criminal property and one count of theft of a motor vehicle.

Appearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, Hrh Arfaq from from Batley, West Yorkshire was granted bail and is due to appear at crown court in September.

Arfaq, 50, at the court said the intellectual rights to the fragrance by Jackson were also his. According to the prosecutors, Arfaq sold a bottle of the perfume to fellow designer Deborah Martinelli Bonavia for £370,000.

He is also accused of claiming to have made a £48m deal to sell 200 Ghost brand bags to the royal family of Brunei. Also, he is accused of stealing Russian socialite Natalia Rotenburg’s Bentley convertible.

The prosecution said between August 2019 and July 2020, Arfaq drove a Ferrari Spider, worth £229,000, knowing or suspecting it was the proceeds of criminal conduct.