An Egyptian doctor abandoned treating patients in his homeland and became involved in the “more financially lucrative” trade of smuggling looted ancient artefacts into the US, a court has heard.
Ashraf Eldarir, 52, has been jailed after what prosecutors described as his “prodigious smuggling” operation was halted when he was caught at New York’s JFK Airport with 590 ancient Egyptian artefacts in his luggage.
Eldarir was sentenced to six months in prison at a court in New York on Wednesday, after earlier pleading guilty to four charges of smuggling.
As an investigation by The National previously revealed, an ancient figurine, known as a shabti, that was bought by the British Museum from a convicted smuggler, also passed through the hands of Eldarir.
Before sentencing, the US attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Joseph Nocella, outlined the case against Eldarir in a letter to the judge, seen by The National. It reveals new details about the scale and complexity of the Egyptian criminal operation.
These include how Eldarir used extensive fake provenance documentation, claiming to show the looted items belonged to his grandfather.
An archaeologist told The National that this practice is known as the “dead dad provenance” trick, or “grandfathering”. The British Museum’s ownership history still shows the shabti as coming from the collection of Eldarir’s grandfather.
Mr Nocella said Eldarir first became involved in smuggling during the Arab Uprising in Egypt in 2011, when “there was massive looting of the country’s archaeological sites” and he made a “conscious, deliberate choice to operate a theft and smuggling scheme”.
“Omar Ashraf Eldarir, a licensed physician in Egypt, decided it was more financially lucrative for him to steal Egyptian artefacts and smuggle them into the United States to sell than to use his medical degree and treat patients in Egypt,” said Mr Nocella.
Eldarir, at some point, moved to the US and court documents show he worked as a taxi driver while living in New York.
He began working with people in Egypt described as “very likely looters and grave robbers” and sent him videos and photos of artefacts for sale. These included a mysterious figure known only as “Major Hassan”.
Eldarir regularly flew to Egypt to pick up the artefacts, then placed them for sale at auction houses, including the prestigious Christie's. He also sold items to Palmyra Heritage, which is run by convicted smuggler Morris Khouli, from whom the British Museum purchased the shabti.
Mr Nocella said Eldarir provided provenance that falsely claimed artefacts from his grandfather’s collection were brought to the US before 1948. Had that been true, it would mean their export from Egypt was not prohibited at that time.
Eldarir was stopped at JFK in January 2020 after arriving on an Egypt Air flight from Cairo. He had gone through the ‘nothing to declare’ lane at customs but was pulled over by immigration officials, who found 590 ancient Egyptian artefacts in three suitcases.
When the cases were opened by customs agents, they were met by the smell of wet earth the moment they undid the bubble-wrapped items, according to the indictment. Sand and loose dirt spilt out, which were all “indicative of recent illicit excavation”.
Among the items recovered by law enforcement officers were gold amulets from a funerary set and wooden tomb model figures with linen garments dating to about 1900 BC.
They also found a “forgery toolkit” that revealed the elaborate lengths Eldarir went to, to create convincing provenance documents for his looted items.
There were multiple documents forged using Photoshop, including what appeared to be decades-old Egyptian blank pages with watermarks and loose Egyptian stamps.
Also found were black-and-white photographs purporting to depict an ancestor of Eldarir displaying several of the artefacts in his office from long ago, which had also been Photoshopped.
Investigators from the Department of Homeland Security then began looking at Eldarir’s mobile phone, and they found photographs of ancient artefacts which corresponded with his travel from Cairo to New York. These included a female sarcophagus lid and two masks, which sold for a combined total of $6,050.
Video clips found on the phone included one shot at night at a dig site, which shows someone at the top of a ladder extending underground. The person climbs down, stopping to highlight for Eldarir several ancient carvings and reliefs still intact in the walls of the previously undisturbed site.
Mr Nocella said agents spoke to an Egyptologist at the British Museum, who told them before Eldarir’s arrest in 2020 that he had sold about 500 ancient Egyptian artefacts through prominent auction houses in New York since December 2011.
Eldarir was charged with four counts of smuggling and pleaded guilty the day before his trial was due to begin in February.
The first three relate to individual items sold to dealers from April to November 2019 for a combined total of $6,010. The fourth charge related to the haul he was found with at JFK, the value of which was estimated to be $82,000.
Eldarir is said to have made “tens of thousands of dollars” from his crimes. Mr Nocella emphasised that Egypt is the “true owner of these pieces of cultural heritage” and moves are under way to send them back.
The prosecutor had called for a three-year prison sentence and $10,000 fine, which he said would have reflected “the seriousness of his crimes” and “his lack of respect for the law”.
At a federal court in Brooklyn, he was sentenced by District Judge Rachel Kovner to six months in prison.
“Someone who had truly grappled with accepting responsibility would be remorseful of all his illicit conduct and help facilitate the return of these stolen Egyptian artefacts,” Mr Nocella said. “That is not this defendant”.
The British Museum said establishing the provenance of an object was an integral part of its acquisition process, and this undergoes regular review. The most recent updates were in 2024 to ensure the museum acquires objects only where it has carried out satisfactory due diligence and made all reasonable enquiries.
“We are continuing to research the provenance of the object and have been working proactively with US authorities to support their investigation,” a representative said.
PRISCILLA
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Ultra processed foods
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;
- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,
- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.
Freezer tips
- Always make sure food is completely cool before freezing.
- If you’re cooking in large batches, divide into either family-sized or individual portions to freeze.
- Ensure the food is well wrapped in foil or cling film. Even better, store in fully sealable, labelled containers or zip-lock freezer bags.
- The easiest and safest way to defrost items such as the stews and sauces mentioned is to do so in the fridge for several hours or overnight.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
LILO & STITCH
Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
More coverage from the Future Forum
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
Day 1, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Dimuth Karunaratne had batted with plenty of pluck, and no little skill, in getting to within seven runs of a first-day century. Then, while he ran what he thought was a comfortable single to mid-on, his batting partner Dinesh Chandimal opted to stay at home. The opener was run out by the length of the pitch.
Stat of the day – 1 One six was hit on Day 1. The boundary was only breached 18 times in total over the course of the 90 overs. When it did arrive, the lone six was a thing of beauty, as Niroshan Dickwella effortlessly clipped Mohammed Amir over the square-leg boundary.
The verdict Three wickets down at lunch, on a featherbed wicket having won the toss, and Sri Lanka’s fragile confidence must have been waning. Then Karunaratne and Chandimal's alliance of precisely 100 gave them a foothold in the match. Dickwella’s free-spirited strokeplay meant the Sri Lankans were handily placed at 227-4 at the close.
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
How will Gen Alpha invest?
Mark Chahwan, co-founder and chief executive of robo-advisory firm Sarwa, forecasts that Generation Alpha (born between 2010 and 2024) will start investing in their teenage years and therefore benefit from compound interest.
“Technology and education should be the main drivers to make this happen, whether it’s investing in a few clicks or their schools/parents stepping up their personal finance education skills,” he adds.
Mr Chahwan says younger generations have a higher capacity to take on risk, but for some their appetite can be more cautious because they are investing for the first time. “Schools still do not teach personal finance and stock market investing, so a lot of the learning journey can feel daunting and intimidating,” he says.
He advises millennials to not always start with an aggressive portfolio even if they can afford to take risks. “We always advise to work your way up to your risk capacity, that way you experience volatility and get used to it. Given the higher risk capacity for the younger generations, stocks are a favourite,” says Mr Chahwan.
Highlighting the role technology has played in encouraging millennials and Gen Z to invest, he says: “They were often excluded, but with lower account minimums ... a customer with $1,000 [Dh3,672] in their account has their money working for them just as hard as the portfolio of a high get-worth individual.”
Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
ICC Awards for 2021
MEN
Cricketer of the Year – Shaheen Afridi (Pakistan)
T20 Cricketer of the Year – Mohammad Rizwan (Pakistan)
ODI Cricketer of the Year – Babar Azam (Pakistan)
Test Cricketer of the Year – Joe Root (England)
WOMEN
Cricketer of the Year – Smriti Mandhana (India)
ODI Cricketer of the Year – Lizelle Lee (South Africa)
T20 Cricketer of the Year – Tammy Beaumont (England)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The years Ramadan fell in May
The five pillars of Islam
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The biog
Favourite film: Motorcycle Dairies, Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday, Kagemusha
Favourite book: One Hundred Years of Solitude
Holiday destination: Sri Lanka
First car: VW Golf
Proudest achievement: Building Robotics Labs at Khalifa University and King’s College London, Daughters
Driverless cars or drones: Driverless Cars
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
