DUBAI // Two men who pretended to be business partners with a member of Abu Dhabi’s Royal Family used fake documents to buy a Porsche GT3 RS worth Dh850,000, a court has heard.
The Emirati, 36, and an Egyptian, 38, approached the car’s owner in July last year and told him they were working with a sheikh who wanted to buy the car, the court was told.
After striking a deal with the man, the two gave him a cheque for Dh850,000 and went to the Roads and Transports Authority to change ownership.
They submitted several forged documents including a letter from the sheikh’s office bearing his signature and stamp, the court heard.
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Today in court
■ Men assaulted security guard before stealing cables, Dubai court hears
■ Boy, 10, sexually assaulted by laundry worker, Dubai court told
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The Emirati is charged with five counts of forgery and use of forged documents. He is also charged with issuing a cheque that later bounced and with unlawfully obtaining the 2016 model sports car.
The Egyptian is charged with aiding and abetting. Both men denied all charges at Dubai Criminal Court.
“I was not involved and I know nothing about this,” said the Egyptian.
The car owner’s nationality and age and the name of the sheikh were not mentioned.
The next hearing is scheduled for February 15.
salamir@thenational.ae
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Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
A cheaper choice
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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
