These allegations are completely and utterly false. The alleged encounter simply never happened. Indeed, the events could not have happened, as not only was Prince Alwaleed not in Ibiza at any time in 2008, but has not been there for over a decade.

Furthermore, Prince Alwaleed’s yacht Kingdom 5KR was not in Ibiza in 2008 nor has he ever chartered a yacht there.

The prince does not vacation in Spanish waters as the story states. He was nowhere near Ibiza when the alleged events took place. As relevant travel records and itineraries confirm, he was in the presence of dozens of people at that time, including his family, and not in Spain.

The first time Prince Alwaleed heard about these false allegations was on Tuesday, when a representative received a call from the press and when the false information appeared in the news. Furthermore, neither the prince nor his lawyers were informed or aware of any complaint filed in Ibiza in 2008 or that the same complaint was dismissed in 2010.

Heba Fatani, senior executive manager for corporate communications at Kingdom Holding Company, said: “There have been many examples of people impersonating Prince Alwaleed over the Internet and elsewhere for their own purposes. While one can suppose a young person in Ibiza might be fooled by such a fraud, we would have expected more from the New York Times.”

Media experts were of the view that the New York Times did not follow the basics of journalism in rushing to print the allegations. They said the rudiments of journalism require a complete verification of all facts.

Many people who know the prince or have come in contact with him expressed shock and disbelief at the paper’s allegations. They termed the allegations as calumny against the prince.