DUBAI // The panic of realising that a paycheque was missing was matched only by the disbelief for the payee that it was recovered after blowing across a busy Sheikh Zayed Road.
That is the situation Said Mahmoud, an account manager at a PR and events management company, found himself in recently after his pay packet went astray on his monthly trip to Dubai Mall to cash his cheque.
“I usually take a cab to Dubai Mall to cash my cheques but for some reason I decided to take my car that day,” said Mr Mahmoud, who had stashed his cheque in the inside pocket of his jacket, which he took off before getting into the car.
The Jordanian did not realise that the cheque was missing until he stepped out of his car at the mall car park.
“I freaked out, and needless to say, I tore up the inside of my car looking for the cheque, but nothing,” he said.
He returned to his work to report the cheque missing and tried to retrace his steps hoping to find the cheque but his efforts were in vain.
As Mr Mahmoud stepped out of the finance office at his company, an accountant followed him asking his name and the value of his cheque. Much to his surprise, the accountant told him that someone from Emirates Grand Hotel — across Sheikh Zayed Road from where he had set off — had found the cheque.
It transpired that hotel employee Maqsood, from Pakistan, found the cheque at about noon on January 29 and handed it to the income auditor at the hotel.
“He told me he found it and thought to hand it to police but then decided to give it to me and said he was sure I would know what exactly to do,” said Disha Kaur, 25, from India.
She Googled the name of the company named on the cheque and found a phone number.
“When I called, I asked to be transferred to the finance department and they thought I was asking about a cheque for me, but then I explained and provided them with the cheque’s number and details,” she said, adding that they then told her it was issued for one of their employees.
Mr Mahmoud said: “I couldn’t believe it. I went there and retrieved my cheque and lived happily ever after.”
salamir@thenational.ae
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
Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
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SERIES INFO
Afghanistan v Zimbabwe, Abu Dhabi Sunshine Series
All matches at the Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Test series
1st Test: Zimbabwe beat Afghanistan by 10 wickets
2nd Test: Wednesday, 10 March – Sunday, 14 March
Play starts at 9.30am
T20 series
1st T20I: Wednesday, 17 March
2nd T20I: Friday, 19 March
3rd T20I: Saturday, 20 March
TV
Supporters in the UAE can watch the matches on the Rabbithole channel on YouTube
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
