Legendary Dutch footballer Edgar Davids was the victim of a fraudulent scheme by a former friend who took valuable paintings from him and used them as security to apply for loans.
A court in London heard last week how Nabila Habiby, 38, from Limburg, moved into a north London mansion owned by Davids in 2014 after the two struck up a friendship.
According to the London Standard, Davids allowed Habiby to remain in the property when he moved to a central London apartment in December of that year. He trusted her to place his possessions – including his extensive art collection – in storage.
Davids, who had an illustrious playing career in the 1990s, including spells at Inter Milan and Juventus, began investing in art in the 2000s. He bought a number of paintings by renowned British street artist Paul Insect.
In July 2014, Habiby, a former contestant for the Miss Limburg beauty pageant, reportedly took two Insect paintings owned by Davids to a pawn broker, using them to secure a £7,000 (€8,097) loan. When she failed to repay the loan, they were sold at auction.
In 2016, she is said to have once again raided Davids’ art collection, taking a further 33 paintings by Insect and two works by US artist Ron English. She used the artworks to obtain a £24,000 (€27,767) loan, which she also failed to pay back.
Nabila Habiby will be sentenced in November. Credit: Metropolitan Police.
The 37 pieces of art taken from the collection were worth an estimated £188,000 (€217,600). Habiby reportedly used forged paperwork to claim to the pawn brokers that she had joint ownership of the artworks.
Davids only discovered the artworks were missing in 2017 when the buyer of one of the paintings messaged him on Instagram after seeing that Insect had personalised the piece for Davids.
When Davids reported her to the Metropolitan Police, Habiby was taken in for questioning and released on police bail, before returning to Belgium.
She was extradited from Belgium to the UK in 2022 and pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud at Wood Green Crown Court last week. Prosecutors agreed to let three further counts, alleging theft of the artworks, to lie on file. Prosecutor Mark Seymour told the court: "He trusted her, but she stole from him."
