This is the previously unreported inside story of how the former Prime Minister of Qatar became the victim of one of the world’s biggest – and weirdest – jewellery heists.
In early December last year, famed auction house Christie’s was forced to cancel bidding on a large, flawless, pink diamond predicted to sell for as much as $35 million. The rock, the FBI told the auction house, had been stolen from a famous Middle East powerbroker by a Florida-based psychic in a shocking scheme involving a personal assistant, online spiritual counselling, FedEx, and almost $100 million in jewellery in need of an “aura cleanse.”
A few weeks earlier, on November 22, the FBI had arrested John Lee, a resident of Davenport, Florida and Paramus, New Jersey, on charges of mail and wire fraud as well as interstate transport of stolen goods after he was linked to the plot by a globe-spanning investigation.
By the time of his arrest – first reported by Court Watch based on the arrest warrant – Lee had been the subject of a months-long manhunt by both international law enforcement and teams of private detectives in Europe, the UK, the US and Persian Gulf, according to investigators, European law enforcement officials and multiple sources in the secretive diamond industry who spoke to VICE News. Almost everyone we spoke to for this story did so only on the condition of anonymity, because either they were not authorised to discuss the case or feared legal or financial reprisals.
Outside of public filings of an arrest warrant and a related civil lawsuit, and the withdrawal of the stolen gem by an embarrassed Christie’s, the case has received little media attention. That was by design, according to multiple people involved, because the victim of the jewellery theft was Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, the former prime minister of Qatar, and one of the Middle East’s richest and most politically-connected geopolitical insiders. Thani, with an estimated $2 billion fortune and a long list of powerful friends, has the money and influence to keep his name out of the case, according to a former FBI agent turned private investigator in New York.
“That’s when things got weird. As details became available, it got increasingly surreal.”
“Handling something in a low-key way isn’t necessarily unethical or illegal,” said the former agent, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of Thani’s standing and influence. “There are legitimate diplomatic reasons to keep someone like Thani’s name out of an indictment. But that [Thani’s name] hasn’t already leaked out tells me there’s an effort to draw as little attention as possible to the situation.”
Thani’s role as victim, which we are reporting for the first time, was established by detailed records and receipts for the stolen gems examined by VICE News and confirmed by multiple sources involved in the search.
“[Thani] has both the wealth and political…diplomatic influence to keep a situation like this very quiet,” said a Dubai-based private investigator who was briefed on the case.
In August of last year, corporate investigators from top firms in London and New York were retained by lawyers working for Thani, commonly referred to by his initials, HBJ, to recover 17 pieces of jewellery worth over $90 million stolen over the previous three months. The blinged out jewellery was unique and expensive enough – and in some cases so well-known in the trade – that investigators assumed openly fencing them would be too risky for the thief. Familiar with the markets for high-end gems, the investigators concluded the thieves would have the stones removed from settings and recut to disguise their origins. Antwerp, New York City and Dubai – with their large diamond markets – were where the investigators told HBJ’s representatives to look.
“That’s when things got weird,” said a third investigator briefed on the case. “As details became available, it got increasingly surreal.”
Thani wasn’t a surprising victim, according to multiple investigators who worked on the case, as he has billions in assets and a reputation for collecting extremely expensive jewellery.
“HBJ is a legend in the diamond industry,” said one Antwerp-based broker. “He’s considered a whale as a client, it’s well-known that he has an extremely valuable collection.”
But how he became the victim of one of the biggest jewellery heists in history left the investigators stunned.
Thani’s estimated net worth of about $2 billion actually downplays the extent of both his wealth and political power, according to a Gulf-based banker who has worked with both Thani and the $230 billion Qatar Sovereign Wealth Fund, which Thani managed until 2013.
“Lots of people are worth a couple billion but it’s usually tied up in shares and options… HBJ’s billions are liquid or extremely valuable assets,” said the banker, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “He’s richer than a normal billionaire.”
Thani’s assets – and the list is far from complete – include shares or outright control in major London real-estate projects, including the Shard, Harrods and One Hyde Park, as well banking assets ranging from large stakes in Deutsche Bank to control of the largest financial institutions in Luxembourg. The UK press dubbed him, “the man who bought London,” because of his long tenure at the helm of the Qatari investment fund.
The sheikh famously likes nice things: His $179 million bid on Picasso’s Les Femmes d’Alger in 2015 set a then record for a painting at auction. And he holidays on a $300 million super yacht named Al Mirqab, according to the Panama Papers leak. His son has recently made multiple bids to buy Manchester United Football Club.