By Ephrat Livni

Copyright nytimes

Representatives for the Qataris did not respond to multiple requests for comment. A representative for a hotel group that is owned by the royal family and that is at the center of the dispute dismissed the accusations as “entirely false.”

Experts in racketeering cases say that getting the matter to trial will be an uphill battle, as is common in these kinds of claims. A plaintiff can win three times as much as any actual damages — and that is what Mr. McKillen is seeking. But he has to show a long pattern of illegal activity with great specificity.

Mr. McKillen says he is undaunted by the prospect of a long fight with a powerful foe. “Where I come from, we don’t like bullies,” he said in a statement to The New York Times. “We stand up to them.”

The case involves a dispute over a Beverly Hills hotel, among other properties, and it was filed in California because the Qatari royals conduct business there and exchanges between the parties took place in that state, according to the filing. But the complaint spans the globe over about a decade as the Qatari royals amassed billions of dollars worth of properties and gained stature on the world stage.