ABU DHABI // The mastermind of an audacious attempt to fraudulently withdraw 7.2 billion euros (Dh35.7bn) from the Central Bank was convicted in his absence yesterday and sentenced to five years in prison.
The whereabouts of Agha Farzeen Sonali, an Iranian, are unknown. A warrant was issued for his arrest.
Seven other men were acquitted of forging documents that claimed to give them access to money in a personal account belonging to Sonali.
The plan was doomed from the start, according to bank officials, because the Central Bank does not hold personal assets. "It is a bank for banks," a member of its anti-money laundering and suspicious cases unit told the Abu Dhabi Criminal Court of First Instance.
The court had heard how three defendants two Belgians and a German entered the bank on December 21 last year with a power of attorney that authorised the German, VT, to receive the money on behalf of Sonali.
They had documents with account numbers and records showing that 7.2bn euros had been transferred from Germany to the Central Bank via a security house at Abu Dhabi International Airport.
But the documents were immediately recognised as forgeries, the bank's witness said.
The three men were arrested and led police officers to four Iranian associates, who were also accused of forging the documents.
Lawyers for the defendants said they had gone to the bank to ask if the documents they had were legitimate. The lawyers said their clients were victims of a scam orchestrated by Sonali. The men claimed they never met Sonali but had heard of him through a business associate in Austria.
VT told the court that he had been contacted by an investor in Austria who wanted to finance the building of a five-star hospital in Abu Dhabi. A percentage of the money in the bank would be allocated towards the hospital project, he was told.
However, prosecutors accused the men of trying to withdraw the money. "This is one of the most dangerous crimes that threaten the economy and financial institutions of this country," prosecutors told the court.
Sonali had tried similar schemes twice before, according to the bank's witness. He was also sentenced in absentia in one of the previous cases.
The other seven defendants said they believed that Sonali was in Iran.
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MATCH INFO
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Man of the Match: Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City)
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Museum of the Future in numbers
- 78 metres is the height of the museum
- 30,000 square metres is its total area
- 17,000 square metres is the length of the stainless steel facade
- 14 kilometres is the length of LED lights used on the facade
- 1,024 individual pieces make up the exterior
- 7 floors in all, with one for administrative offices
- 2,400 diagonally intersecting steel members frame the torus shape
- 100 species of trees and plants dot the gardens
- Dh145 is the price of a ticket
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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The biog:
From: Wimbledon, London, UK
Education: Medical doctor
Hobbies: Travelling, meeting new people and cultures
Favourite animals: All of them