Fraud suspect who pawned Edgar Davids' art misses sentencing at Wood Green

Nabila Habiby, 39, failed to appear for sentencing at Wood Green Crown Court, claiming she was knocked unconscious by luggage at an airport.

Sentencing delayed again for woman who pawned former Spurs star's £118,000 art collection

A woman who defrauded former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Edgar Davids of an £188,000 modern art collection failed to appear for sentencing at Wood Green Crown Court on Friday, claiming she had been struck on the head by a piece of luggage on her way to the airport, The Independent reports.

Nabila Habiby, 39, admitted two counts of fraud in September 2025 after pawning 37 paintings and works of art belonging to Davids, securing £31,500 in loans from pawnbrokers in the process. Davids had trusted her with the keys to his Hadley Wood, Hertfordshire home in December 2014 while he relocated to a central London apartment — giving her access to works by artists Paul Insect and Ron English, purchased from the Opera Gallery in New York between 2006 and 2012.

He only discovered the collection had been seized when Habiby defaulted on repayments, prompting pawnbrokers to sell the artwork to international buyers. One of those buyers contacted Davids directly to ask about the provenance of a specific painting.

Defence barrister Hannah Thomas told the court she had received a message at around 9.30am on Friday stating that Habiby had passed out after being hit on the head by luggage and had been taken to hospital, where she remained on a drip.

Judge Emma Deacon KC said the medical documentation submitted from Belgium — where Habiby now lives — was "inadequate" to support that account. Despite her reservations, the judge agreed to adjourn the sentencing hearing, directing that the original judge who accepted the guilty pleas should pass sentence.

Friday's no-show follows a previous sentencing attempt in March, which collapsed after Habiby made an unsuccessful application to withdraw her guilty pleas. More than a year after those pleas were entered, she has yet to be sentenced. It is now close to five years since she was first charged following a Metropolitan Police investigation into fraud offences dating back to 2015 and 2016.

At the time of her guilty pleas, Habiby was warned she could face up to 34 months in custody. She was released on bail pending sentence.

Some of the artworks have since been recovered, but 25 pieces remain missing. Habiby has been ordered to attend court on 23 September for sentencing and must submit a full medical report to account for her absence on Friday.

Source: The Independent