Lawyers for Paddy McKillen have claimed that the property investor is the victim of a “smear campaign” orchestrated by the Qatari royal family.
The 70-year-old was last week accused of being physically and verbally aggressive towards a bailiff at one of his luxury apartments in central Paris on June 25th last year.
French prosecutors are seeking a €10,000 fine against the Belfast-born businessman, who is also facing a potential eight-month suspended sentence over his alleged behaviour towards the court-appointed official at one of his two properties at the prestigious Place Vendôme.
Bailiff Anna Cohen-Bacri told the correctional court that she was at the property to carry out instructions issued by magistrates and felt frightened and intimidated when Mr McKillen showed up and tried to gain access to the €30 million apartment.
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The court heard the case was linked to a wider dispute between Mr McKillen and the Qatari royal family over the non-payment of a loan to the Luxembourg-based Quintet Private Bank.
In court last Wednesday, Mr McKillen’s lawyers asked for the trial be postponed for up to two weeks as the case file had not been provided by the court and because he was in Vietnam on a business trip.
Prosecutors repeatedly expressed frustration that the accused was not in court and said he had not provided any justification to explain his absence.
Judge Fanny Huboux said Mr McKillen had not told the court in advance he could not attend and could have sent a letter or email explaining he had to travel to Vietnam. The judge denied the request for an adjournment and will deliver a verdict in March.
In a statement, Paddy McKillen’s lawyers were critical of the court’s decision not to grant an adjournment and claimed their client’s rights had been violated.
They said they had requested a copy of the case file several months ago so they could prepare their defence.
“It is obvious that this case is but a part of a more general smear campaign launched by the Qatari royal family against Mr McKillen,” his lawyers said.
The lawyers claimed the Qatari family was facing litigation in several countries “for refusing to pay Mr McKillen large sums of money – over a billion pounds – that are owed to him for seven years of work”.
“Mr McKillen and his companies have already been able to obtain asset-freezing measures against the Qatari royal family, and a criminal complaint against Quintet Bank has been lodged,” they said.
The lawyers said Mr McKillen “vigorously denies any violence or any wrongdoing” and they claimed the allegations against him were “false”.
They noted that the bailiff was appointed by Quintet Bank, which is “owned by the Qatari royal family”.
The court heard last week that the bailiff felt she had no choice but to call the police after Mr McKillen became “extremely aggressive” and used the term “f**king bailiff” while repeatedly calling her an “idiot”.
Her lawyer, Marine Ruta, said her client, who is aged 33 and pregnant, had been “continually aggressed and violently pushed aside”.
“She is not in this for financial gain, but brought the case to help protect other public officials carrying out their duties,” the lawyer told the court.
The case will come before the courts again on March 12th when a verdict is due to be delivered.
Lawyers for Mr McKillen have already indicated they will appeal if he is convicted.
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