They met how many people do in the 21st century – on Tinder. After a few messages back and forth, Cecilie Fjellhoy, a Norwegian graduate living in London, went to meet her new match for a coffee at a five-star hotel.
Spoilers ahead
The man was Simon Leviev, a wealthy businessman who told her he was the son of Israeli diamond tycoon Lev Leviev. They chatted, getting to know one another, but Leviev’s busy schedule meant the date had to be cut short.
He told Fjellhoy he had to fly to Bulgaria for business, via private jet, and invited her to come along so they could continue their date. Excited and ignoring the concerns of her friends, she headed home, packed a bag and joined him, after a few quick Google searches apparently backed up his story – he was who he said he was.
It was the start of an ordeal that would leave Fjellhoy heartbroken and more than $200,000 in debt.
Who is Simon Leviev?
Leviev is the star of new Netflix documentary film The Tinder Swindler, which had its premiere on the streaming site on Wednesday.
It tells the story of three women – Fjellhoy, Pernilla Sjoholm and Ayleen Charlotte – each of whom were tricked into handing over tens of thousands of dollars to Leviev.
Born Shimon Hayut, he legally changed his name in 2011 to Simon Leviev – although he in fact has no relation to the Leviev diamond family – and fled his native Israel, where he was wanted in connection with a string of fraud offenses he is alleged to have committed in his early twenties.
He moved to Finland, where in 2015, he was sent to prison for two years for conning three women. It was after his release, in 2017, that he met Fjellhoy.
What did Simon Leviev do?
The Netflix documentary features the stories of the three women, who each had almost identical experiences with Leviev. They matched with him on Tinder, met him in person, and entered into a long-distance relationship with him – in the case of Fjellhoy and Charlotte, the relationships were romantic, with Sjoholm, the pair were close friends.
Each woman witnessed his lavish lifestyle – private jets, designer clothes, luxury hotels and constant business trips. It was enough for them to believe he was who he said he was.
He showered them with gifts, love and affection, and in many cases, flew across Europe just to meet up with them for a coffee or dinner. As they grew closer, he began to open up about the dangerous diamond business and his “enemies”, who were always looking to destroy him, meaning his life was constantly in danger.
Eventually the women would receive a worrying message from Leviev, showing his bodyguard beaten and bruised in the back of an ambulance. They were told his “enemies” had found him, and, in order to remain safe and not be found, he’d put a block on all his credit cards.
What followed was a series of requests for credit card access, personal loans and requests for plane tickets, which the women handed over, believing that this multimillionaire diamond tycoon would repay the money.
The documentary alleges he would use the money from the previous victim to woo and impress the next, and so the swindle continued. While it is not clear exactly how many women Leviev targeted, the show makes it clear its subjects are not the only ones.
Where is Leviev now?
Leviev, 31, was eventually arrested in Greece in 2019 after being caught using a fake passport, thanks to information from Charlotte. He was sent back to Israel, where he was jailed on charges unconnected to the events of the Netflix show dating back to 2011. He served five months in prison after being released early for good behaviour.
Despite being wanted in many European countries, he is currently living as a free man in Israel. According to, The Times of Israel, he is alleged to have swindled an estimated $10 million dollars from victims across Europe between 2017 and 2019, although he has never been charged for any crimes committed outside of Israel.
“Maybe their hearts were broken during the process … I never took a dime from them; these women enjoyed themselves in my company, they travelled and got to see the world on my dime,” he told the newspaper.
Fjellhoy, Sjoholm and Charlotte are still paying off their debt.
The Tinder Swindler is now available to stream on Netflix
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WISH
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Engine: six-litre W12 twin-turbo
Transmission: eight-speed dual clutch auto
Power: 626bhp
Torque: 900Nm
Price: Dh940,160 (plus VAT)
On sale: Q1 2020
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Director: Punit Malhotra
Stars: Tiger Shroff, Tara Sutaria, Ananya Pandey, Aditya Seal
1.5 stars
ABU DHABI ORDER OF PLAY
Starting at 10am:
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Veronika Kudermetova v Annet Kontaveit (10)
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the pledge
I pledge to uphold the duty of tolerance
I pledge to take a first stand against hate and injustice
I pledge to respect and accept people whose abilities, beliefs and culture are different from my own
I pledge to wish for others what I wish for myself
I pledge to live in harmony with my community
I pledge to always be open to dialogue and forgiveness
I pledge to do my part to create peace for all
I pledge to exercise benevolence and choose kindness in all my dealings with my community
I pledge to always stand up for these values: Zayed's values for tolerance and human fraternity
How to play the stock market recovery in 2021?
If you are looking to build your long-term wealth in 2021 and beyond, the stock market is still the best place to do it as equities powered on despite the pandemic.
Investing in individual stocks is not for everyone and most private investors should stick to mutual funds and ETFs, but there are some thrilling opportunities for those who understand the risks.
Peter Garnry, head of equity strategy at Saxo Bank, says the 20 best-performing US and European stocks have delivered an average return year-to-date of 148 per cent, measured in local currency terms.
Online marketplace Etsy was the best performer with a return of 330.6 per cent, followed by communications software company Sinch (315.4 per cent), online supermarket HelloFresh (232.8 per cent) and fuel cells specialist NEL (191.7 per cent).
Mr Garnry says digital companies benefited from the lockdown, while green energy firms flew as efforts to combat climate change were ramped up, helped in part by the European Union’s green deal.
Electric car company Tesla would be on the list if it had been part of the S&P 500 Index, but it only joined on December 21. “Tesla has become one of the most valuable companies in the world this year as demand for electric vehicles has grown dramatically,” Mr Garnry says.
By contrast, the 20 worst-performing European stocks fell 54 per cent on average, with European banks hit by the economic fallout from the pandemic, while cruise liners and airline stocks suffered due to travel restrictions.
As demand for energy fell, the oil and gas industry had a tough year, too.
Mr Garnry says the biggest story this year was the “absolute crunch” in so-called value stocks, companies that trade at low valuations compared to their earnings and growth potential.
He says they are “heavily tilted towards financials, miners, energy, utilities and industrials, which have all been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic”. “The last year saw these cheap stocks become cheaper and expensive stocks have become more expensive.”
This has triggered excited talk about the “great value rotation” but Mr Garnry remains sceptical. “We need to see a breakout of interest rates combined with higher inflation before we join the crowd.”
Always remember that past performance is not a guarantee of future returns. Last year’s winners often turn out to be this year’s losers, and vice-versa.
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BMW M5 specs
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Tips for entertaining with ease
· Set the table the night before. It’s a small job but it will make you feel more organised once done.
· As the host, your mood sets the tone. If people arrive to find you red-faced and harried, they’re not going to relax until you do. Take a deep breath and try to exude calm energy.
· Guests tend to turn up thirsty. Fill a big jug with iced water and lemon or lime slices and encourage people to help themselves.
· Have some background music on to help create a bit of ambience and fill any initial lulls in conversations.
· The meal certainly doesn’t need to be ready the moment your guests step through the door, but if there’s a nibble or two that can be passed around it will ward off hunger pangs and buy you a bit more time in the kitchen.
· You absolutely don’t have to make every element of the brunch from scratch. Take inspiration from our ideas for ready-made extras and by all means pick up a store-bought dessert.
The Internet
Hive Mind
four stars
Seemar’s top six for the Dubai World Cup Carnival:
1. Reynaldothewizard
2. North America
3. Raven’s Corner
4. Hawkesbury
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BULKWHIZ PROFILE
Date started: February 2017
Founders: Amira Rashad (CEO), Yusuf Saber (CTO), Mahmoud Sayedahmed (adviser), Reda Bouraoui (adviser)
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: E-commerce
Size: 50 employees
Funding: approximately $6m
Investors: Beco Capital, Enabling Future and Wain in the UAE; China's MSA Capital; 500 Startups; Faith Capital and Savour Ventures in Kuwait
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
The biog
Favourite pet: cats. She has two: Eva and Bito
Favourite city: Cape Town, South Africa
Hobby: Running. "I like to think I’m artsy but I’m not".
Favourite move: Romantic comedies, specifically Return to me. "I cry every time".
Favourite spot in Abu Dhabi: Saadiyat beach
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
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3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
About Seez
Company name/date started: Seez, set up in September 2015 and the app was released in August 2017
Founder/CEO name(s): Tarek Kabrit, co-founder and chief executive, and Andrew Kabrit, co-founder and chief operating officer
Based in: Dubai, with operations also in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon
Sector: Search engine for car buying, selling and leasing
Size: (employees/revenue): 11; undisclosed
Stage of funding: $1.8 million in seed funding; followed by another $1.5m bridge round - in the process of closing Series A
Investors: Wamda Capital, B&Y and Phoenician Funds
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Discount: She works in luxury retail, but is careful about spending, waits for sales, festivals and only buys on discount
University: The only person in her family to go to college, Jiang secured a bachelor’s degree in business management in China
Masters: Studying part-time for a master’s degree in international business marketing in Dubai
Vacation: Heads back home to see family in China
Community work: Member of the Chinese Business Women’s Association of the UAE to encourage other women entrepreneurs
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