Zambia back in International News over the Gold Scandal
SKY NEWS
Guns, Gold, and $5million Cash; Documents reveal owner of private jet seized in gold scam
A private jet at the centre of a mysterious fake gold smuggling case belongs to a well-connected Egyptian tycoon, Ibrahim Al Organi, Sky News can reveal.
By Ben van der Merwe and Michelle Inez Simon, Data and Forensics Unit
Last August, authorities in Zambia raided a private jet, which had landed at the African country’s largest airport after flying more than 3,000 miles from Cairo.
Acting on a tip, Zambia’s Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) found $5.7m in cash, five pistols and 127kg of what appeared to be gold.
Zambian authorities later tested the pieces and discovered they were mostly made up of copper and zinc.
“This has been a clear case of scamming, gold scamming,” said DEC director Nason Banda at a news conference after the operation.
Zambian authorities seized the jet and detained 10 people on board, including six Egyptian nationals. For almost a year, however, the owner of the jet has remained a mystery.
Documents obtained by Sky News, in collaboration with the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), show that the plane is owned by prominent Egyptian businessman Ibrahim Al Organi.
In an affidavit filed to Zambia’s High Court in December, Al Organi identified himself as the owner of the aircraft.
Who is Al Organi?
The Egyptian businessman is chairman of the Organi Group, a sprawling 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 Organi’s affidavit, submitted in a bid to regain possession of the aircraft, says he is the “sole director” of the company World Aviation Sinai International Mountain Limited, which is registered with the aviation authority in San Marino, a tiny landlocked country surrounded by Italy.
San Marino aviation registry documents confirm the firm owns the Global Express jet that was detained by Zambian authorities.
In the affidavit, Al Organi says neither he nor the plane’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 jet after reaching an agreement with Al Organi’s company. Flight tracking data shows the plane flew from Lusaka to Johannesburg on 12 April.
The ownership of the plane and its links to Egypt have been subject to speculation since the raid almost one year ago.
According to the Associated Press, a journalist in Egypt was briefly detained in August after publishing the names of the Egyptians arrested on-board the plane.
Five of those Egyptians were subsequently charged with espionage, but these charges were dropped four days later. The sixth Egyptian, a flight attendant, was released without charge.
Five Zambians connected with the plot are currently standing trial in Lusaka on charges of espionage.
The Zambian Drug Enforcement Commission and Director of Public Prosecutions declined to comment, citing the ongoing legal cases.
That is the same private jet that used to be parked in the presidential parking plot at KKIA.
Our mines are being given to his LGBT friends yet Zambians are suffering. Now he wants to give 10% of the country to another conman Vietnamese.
Vote wisely in 2026.
That is the same private jet that used to be parked in the presidential parking plot at KKIA.
Our mines are being given to his LGBT friends yet Zambians are suffering. Now he wants to give 10% of the country to another conman Vietnamese.
Vote wisely in 2026.
The smuggling or fraud attempt was foiled and some people connected to it were arrested and are in pretrial remand prison. It’s a sign that the state’s law enforcement system did its job.
The smuggling or fraud attempt was foiled and some people connected to it were arrested and are in pretrial remand prison. It’s a sign that the state’s law enforcement system did its job.
Here is an article properly written and not the prejudical innuendo that appeared earlier written by Emmanuel Mwamba. No where in this article citing Sky news as the source is the owner of the Jet lined to a terrorist organisation as Mwamba suggests. When will people stop being Kapechas? Get a life….mwabelela ufubufi for a living
LInked and not lined
Here is an article properly written and not the prejudical innuendo that appeared earlier written by Emmanuel Mwamba. No where in this article citing Sky news as the source is the owner of the Jet lined to a terrorist organisation as Mwamba suggests. When will people stop being Kapechas? Get a life….mwabelela ufubufi for a living
LInked and not lined
KALABA FOR PRESIDENT
KALABA FOR PRESIDENT
Some people were speculators even when they were in the womb.Born liars,traitors and anarchists.
Some people were speculators even when they were in the womb.Born liars,traitors and anarchists.