The New York trial of Harvey Weinstein and its California sequel had a rare crossover on Monday as his only accuser to testify at both took the stand in Los Angeles.
Actress Lauren Young said the former movie mogul sexually assaulted her in a Beverly Hills hotel bathroom in 2013 while she repeatedly told him “no”.
Ms Young said she was paralysed with fear when Weinstein blocked her from leaving the bathroom, touched his privates in front of her and groped her.
“I was scared of Harvey Weinstein — that he would hurt me, or send someone to hurt me, or ruin my career, or make my life hell,” she told the court.
When Young testified in New York in February of 2020, she was not one of the accusers whose stories would lead to Weinstein's conviction for rape and sexual assault, and a 23-year prison sentence.
But prosecutors called on her to testify to help establish a pattern of him preying on women.
In Los Angeles, Weinstein is charged with sexual battery by restraint for the same accusations.
Young said on Monday that in early 2013, she was a model who was aspiring to be an actress and screenwriter.
She said that through Weinstein's assistant, who had become a friend, she set up a meeting with him at the Montage Hotel on the night of February 19, 2013, about a script she was working on.
Young testified that he was distracted and uninterested during the meeting, suggesting instead that she might be a reality-TV host on a show like America's Next Top Model, which his company helped to produce.
Weinstein soon said he had to get ready to present an award to director Quentin Tarantino at the Los Angeles Italia Film Festival, and she should accompany him to his room to continue the talk.
Young said he led her into the room and then the bathroom, and his assistant shut the door behind them and left them alone.
She said she was stunned as he quickly took his clothes off and got briefly in the shower, then stepped out and blocked her from leaving when she went for the door.
“I was disgusted," Young said. "I had never seen a big guy like that naked. I actually laughed nervously."
She said she backed up against a sink and turned away from him. He then unzipped her dress and groped her with one hand as he touched himself with the other.
“I was really grossed out by his body and the look he was giving me," Young said. "I was wondering, 'how do I get out of here safe? What am I going to do?'"
She said she told him “no" repeatedly. When he finished, she left the hotel and never saw him again.
Like all of the women Weinstein is charged with sexually assaulting at the trial, Young is going by Jane Doe in court.
Young has given her consent through her lawyer to be identified.
Her testimony closely stuck to her account during the New York trial.
But during cross-examination, Weinstein's lawyer Alan Jackson said it differed in many respects from her early accounts to police starting in 2018, when she called a hotline set up for reports about the producer after the #MeToo movement began.
Young initially told detectives that the assault had taken place a year earlier, days after she had been at a dinner with Weinstein at a Beverly Hills restaurant.
Mr Jackson said she was saying the same as recently as 2020.
“I was sure that I was sexually assaulted," Young said.
“That wasn’t my question,” the lawyer replied. “I’m asking about the time. Something that would stick in your mind.”
Mr Jackson also brought up her previous confusion about the site of the assault in early interviews with authorities.
“As you told your story the first three times, you had no idea what hotel this even took place at," he said. “You didn’t even mention the Montage.”
"I had pushed it out of my memory," Young said.
She acknowledged that she didn't know the hotel was the Montage, now known as the Maybourne, until a police detective suggested it might be and she went to look at it.
Allegations in an indictment and court testimony claim Young's assault came the day after Weinstein raped an Italian model at a different hotel during the run-up to that year's Academy Awards, where he was annually a major player.
Weinstein, 70, has pleaded not guilty to 11 counts of rape and sexual assault involving five women, and he has repeatedly denied that he engaged in any sex that was not consensual.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Profile of RentSher
Started: October 2015 in India, November 2016 in UAE
Founders: Harsh Dhand; Vaibhav and Purvashi Doshi
Based: Bangalore, India and Dubai, UAE
Sector: Online rental marketplace
Size: 40 employees
Investment: $2 million
New process leads to panic among jobseekers
As a UAE-based travel agent who processes tourist visas from the Philippines, Jennifer Pacia Gado is fielding a lot of calls from concerned travellers just now. And they are all asking the same question.
“My clients are mostly Filipinos, and they [all want to know] about good conduct certificates,” says the 34-year-old Filipina, who has lived in the UAE for five years.
Ms Gado contacted the Philippines Embassy to get more information on the certificate so she can share it with her clients. She says many are worried about the process and associated costs – which could be as high as Dh500 to obtain and attest a good conduct certificate from the Philippines for jobseekers already living in the UAE.
“They are worried about this because when they arrive here without the NBI [National Bureau of Investigation] clearance, it is a hassle because it takes time,” she says.
“They need to go first to the embassy to apply for the application of the NBI clearance. After that they have go to the police station [in the UAE] for the fingerprints. And then they will apply for the special power of attorney so that someone can finish the process in the Philippines. So it is a long process and more expensive if you are doing it from here.”
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