The case of the company, Sahara India Pariwar, and its founder and chairman, Subrata Roy Sahara, is getting more interesting. There are reports that the famed Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah, has shown interest in buying some high-profile properties of Roy’s in New York and London. Sultan businessmen questioned about this, however, deny this rumor.

Roy has been jail in Delhi for months. The India apex court has asked him to raise money to pay the depositors of his company, and Roy has been trying to comply by conducting distress sales of his properties in India and abroad.

Properties in Jodhpur, Vadhodra, and other places are in the final stages of sale deals, and so were the rumors about hotels abroad. But with the Sultan of Brunei, one of the richest men in the world, denying an intention to buy these properties, the story has become more interesting.

Subrata Roy Sahara has diversified ownership interests that include London’s Grosvenor House, New York’s Plaza Hotel, Aamby Valley City, and Force India. He was named among the 10 Most Powerful People of India in 2012 by India Today.