A wealth manager has been ordered to face sentencing after a court accepted her explanation for failing to appear in September for her conviction in a fraud case involving footballer Edgar Davids’ £188,000 art collection. Nabila Habiby secured £31,500 in loans on 37 artworks belonging to the former Tottenham midfielder after he entrusted her with his possessions during a house move in December 2014.
Mr Davids, 53, discovered the theft when a buyer in Hong Kong contacted him via Instagram. Habiby had taken the artworks, some purchased from the Opera Gallery in New York, to pawnbrokers, and 25 of the pieces have not yet been recovered. She pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud in September 2025 and was warned she could face up to 34 months in prison.
Her sentencing was initially delayed in March when she attempted to withdraw her guilty pleas. On September 4, Habiby was scheduled for sentencing at Wood Green Crown Court, but she was absent from the dock. Her defense barrister stated that Habiby had been on her way to the airport to attend court when a piece of luggage fell and hit her on the head, causing a concussion and loss of consciousness. She was subsequently hospitalized.
Judge Emma Deacon KC noted that the medical evidence provided from Belgium, where Habiby now resides, was inadequate to fully support the account. However, the judge adjourned the sentencing to allow the original judge, who handled Habiby’s guilty plea, to preside. Habiby's sentencing hearing is now set for September 23, and she has been instructed to provide a comprehensive medical report to substantiate her absence on September 4.
Habiby was initially charged with fraud nearly five years prior, following a Metropolitan Police investigation into offenses that occurred between 2015 and 2016. A new sentencing date has been set for September 23.