A wealth manager who pawned ex-Premier League star Edgar Davids's £188,000 modern art collection has missed her sentencing - claiming she was hit on the head by luggage.
Nabila Habiby, 39, handed over 37 paintings and works of art belonging to Mr Davids in 2015 and 2016, and managed to secure £31,500 in loans.
The former Spurs and Ajax midfielder had previously asked her to put his possessions in storage during a move from his home in Hadley Wood, Hertfordshire, to an apartment in central London in December 2014.
She later defaulted on the loans, the pawn shops sold the art to collectors, and one contacted Mr Davids to inquire about the history of a painting.
Some of the paintings have since been recovered, but 25 works of art are still missing.
Habiby pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud in September 2025 and was released on bail - being told she could face up to 34 months in prison.
She still has not been sentenced over a year later.
Habiby, who is now living in Belgium, was absent from Wood Green Crown Court on Friday.
Defence barrister Hannah Thomas said she was "hit on the head by a piece of luggage en route" to the airport.
She went on: "She had a concussion, since she passed out, and was taken to the hospital where she remains on a drip."
Judge Emma Deacon KC said she had been handed "inadequate" medical evidence to support the story.
The judge agreed to adjourn the sentencing hearing so that the original judge who oversaw the case when guilty pleas were entered could pass sentence.
Habiby was ordered to appear in court on 23 September to be sentenced, and must provide a full medical report explaining her absence on Friday.
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The first attempt to sentence her collapsed in March after she attempted to withdraw her guilty pleas.
It is almost five years since Habiby was first charged after a Metropolitan Police probe.
The paintings in question were by artists Paul Insect and Ron English, and Mr Davids bought them from the Opera Gallery in New York between 2006 and 2012.
(c) Sky News 2026: Fraudster who pawned Edgar Davids's art collection misses sentencing after 'being hit by luggag
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