Zambia Returns to International News for Gold Scandal

Zambia Returns to International News for Gold Scandal

SKY NEWS

Guns, gold and $5 million in cash; Documents reveal owner of private jet seized in gold scam

A private jet at the center of a mysterious fake gold smuggling case belongs to well-connected Egyptian tycoon Ibrahim Al Organi, Sky News can reveal.

By Ben van der Merwe and Michelle Inez Simon, Records and Forensics Unit

Last August, authorities in Zambia raided a private jet that had landed at the African nation's largest airport after flying more than 3,000 miles from Cairo.

Acting on a tip-off, the Zambia Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) found $5.7 million in cash, five handguns and 127kg of what appeared to be gold.

Zambian authorities later tested the pieces and found that they were composed mainly of copper and zinc.

This has been a clear case of fraud, gold fraud, said DEC director Nason Banda at a press conference after the operation.

Zambian authorities intercepted the plane and arrested 10 people on board, including six Egyptian nationals. However, for almost a year, the owner of the plane has remained a mystery.

Documents obtained by Sky News, in collaboration with the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), show that the plane is owned by prominent Egyptian businessman Ibrahim Al Organi.

In an affidavit filed in the High Court of Zambia in December, Al Organi identified himself as the owner of the plane.

Who is Al Organi?

The Egyptian businessman is the chairman of the Organi Group, a vast network of companies in construction, real estate, travel and security. In January 2023, Al Organi became an official sponsor of Al Ahly, the most successful football team in Africa.

Al Organis' statement, filed in a bid to regain possession of the plane, says he is the sole director of World Aviation Sinai International Mountain Limited, which is registered with the aviation authority of San Marino, a small country landlocked surrounded by Italy.

San Marino aviation registry documents confirm that the firm owns the Global Express plane that was detained by Zambian authorities.

In the statement, Al Organi says that neither it nor the aircraft's management company, Ibis Air, had any connection with the Egyptians who chartered the flight from Cairo to Lusaka.

Al Organi did not respond to a further request for comment.

Recent developments

In April, Zambian authorities released the plane after reaching an agreement with Al Organi's company. Flight tracking data shows the plane flew from Lusaka to Johannesburg on April 12.

The plane's ownership and its links to Egypt have been the subject of speculation since the raid almost a year ago.

According to the Associated Press, a journalist in Egypt was briefly arrested in August after publishing the names of Egyptians arrested on board the plane.

Five of those Egyptians were subsequently charged with espionage, but those charges were dropped four days later. The sixth Egyptian, a flight attendant, was released without charge.

Five Zambians linked to the plot are currently on trial in Lusaka on espionage charges.

The Zambian Drug Enforcement Commission and the Director of Public Prosecutions declined to comment, citing ongoing legal cases.

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