the family had been unsuccessfully trying to sell the estate, with Madonna and Cher both being initially interested. In 1995, the castle and estate were on the market for £5.5m. By the year 2000, the castle was suffering badly from leaks and rot. It was eventually sold to a building consortium in 2005 for £12m. At the time of purchase, plans to redevelop the castle as a "six-star" hotel with 150 rooms had already been approved by Perth and Kinross Council. However, since then, due to the huge costs involved and the need to find suitable investment, progress has been slow, with work starting and stalling. Millions of pounds have already been spent in preventing further deterioration of the castle and upon its ongoing conversion. By May 2006, the main buildings were stabilised, with further restoration continuing in the following years. These included new windows, extensive refurbishment to the state rooms and a new roof. Despite the difficulties in completing the project, one of the developers said in 2008 that "We have spent millions of pounds saving one of Scotland's finest, most beautiful properties and we are proud of that. The east wing and the west wing were totally derelict and the seven principal rooms have been saved, all under the watchful eye of Historic Scotland." By 2015, work began on hotel suites under the banner of Taymouth Castle Estate. By 2016, enough work had been completed at the castle for it to operate as an events centre, hosting a number of weddings, corporate events and banquets. In October 2016, an Open Day was held at the castle, to promote it further as a wedding venue for 2017. By 2018, previously-proposed plans for the restoration of the castle had foundered due to concerns about ownership and a possible connection to money-laundering The castle's ownership has passed through a number of unclear entities, including offshore accounts, but was believed to reside in the hands of Ali Ibrahim Dabaiba, the former chief of development for former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi. The post-Gaddafi Libyan government requested the help of the UK authorities over what they described as Dahaiba's theft of government funds invested in multiple properties in Scotland, including Taymouth Castle. The company that had been the prime contractor had stopped work on the project by April, 2018, after a tax probe by HM Revenue and Customs and Companies House began the process