Overview

• The 80-year-old businessman Sheikh Abid Gulzar and co-defendant Manasdeep Singh are charged with ten counts of fraud totalling about £150,000.
• Castle Water initiated a private prosecution over unpaid water bills at hotels in Eastbourne and Hailsham between 2018 and 2024.
• Some of the implicated hotels housed asylum seekers under Home Office contracts from 2022 to 2023, generating fees reported at up to £60,000 per month.
• Gulzar, owner of Eastbourne and Hastings Piers and nicknamed "Goldfinger," has denied the allegations in earlier court appearances.
• The August 12 hearing at Hove Trial Centre authorised the case’s transfer to Lewes Crown Court for full trial proceedings.