A guest at a fancy dinner organised by German lobbyist and ex-politician Gerhard Schroeder has been sought by cops after he ran away without paying for his GBP 5,000 drinks.

The politician, famed for his ‘bromance’ with Russian President Vladimir Putin, 71, had invited his closest friends and collaborators to the two Michelin-star restaurant ‘Lakeside’.

The fine-dining restaurant is located at the five-star luxurious hotel ‘The Fontenay’ on the Outer Alster Lake in the city of Hamburg, Germany.

The 79-year-old former politician, who served as the chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005, had reportedly planned to exchange a few business ideas with the guests on Saturday afternoon, 14th October.

He reportedly told them that he paid for the entire meal, and told them that they would need to cover any additional items ordered outside of the agreed courses.

However, one of the guests, reportedly Iranian businessman Mazid Y.-F., 41, ordered drinks worth a whopping EUR 6,117 (GBP 5,297) and refused to pay for them when the tab arrived.

He then fled without paying, after which the waiter immediately alerted the police.

When the cops arrived, the restaurant management filed a complaint against him.

The police revealed that it was not the first time that the 41-year-old businessman had caused trouble at the high-end lakeside hotel.

Neither Fontenay officials nor Gerhard Schroeder have commented on the incident.

Schroeder has often been criticised for his close friendship with Putin as providing a vindication for the Russian President’s increasingly autocratic control.

In an interview with Sueddeutschen Zeitung, Schroeder refused to denounce his long-time friend and said: “Why should I conceal this?

“That’s who I am, and I don’t want to change anymore. I’m turning 80 now, so there’s no need to change anymore. That is my life.”