Something is amiss in the House of Bolkiah. The powerful family that controls the Sultanate of Brunei, one of the richest countries in the world, has been grabbing the headlines for the wrong reasons in the past few weeks.
Famed for the effortless ease with which they make money - simply by tapping the vast oil reserves that are abundant in Brunei - the seemingly endless stream of revenue that kept the country's population among the most content in the world has begun to splutter.
The rumour mill about the financial woes afflicting the family has swung into action. Reports began emerging that Prince Jefri Bolkiah, the younger brother of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, had incurred losses amounting to billions of US dollars.
Last month, the Sultanate announced an unprecedented investigation into Prince Jefri's principal operating company Amedeo, which was 'having problems'.
The prince, well-known for his extravagant lifestyle, was also beginning to come under renewed media scrutiny.
Yesterday, speculation that total debts at Amadeo might have reached GBP10 billion (about HK$127.59 billion) infected foreign-exchange markets for the first time, putting pressure on the Singapore dollar.
