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London (ANTARA News/DPA) - A British judge has issued a warrant for the arrest of Prince Jefri Bolkiah, the brother of the Sultan of Brunei, for failing to turn up at court proceedings over a long-running financial feud, it was confirmed Thursday.

Prince Jefri, 53, who is believed to be in France or Monaco, could be arrested for contempt of court after failing to turn up for a five-day hearing at the High Court in London Wednesday.

He is involved in a long-running feud with his brother over billions of pounds that went missing during his time as Brunei`s finance minister.

He was due in court over allegations that he violated a court order to hand over 3 billion pounds (5.9 billion dollars) to the Brunei government.

His lawyer told the judge the prince had declined to attend the hearing and was thought to be in France or Monaco.

"If he is arrested, it will take an advocate of great skill to persuade me that he should have bail," High Court judge Peter Smith said.

The case relates to claims that Prince Jefri, nicknamed the Playboy Prince, squandered billions of pounds of state money to fund his lavish lifestyle.

But Prince Jefri denies any wrongdoing, saying he has already complied with a court order from 2000 to hand over the missing billions after reaching an out-of-court settlement with his brother.

However, the Brunei Investment Agency (BIA) says he has not handed over cash and assets as requested.

The prince lives mainly in a lavish palace in London after leaving Brunei in 2004.

Last year, his brother celebrated 40 years on the throne of the tiny oil-rich state.

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