Wealth manager who stole footballer Edgar Davids' £188,000 art collection then failed to turn up to court 'after passing out from luggage landing on her head' is to be sentenced

See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source Published: 14:43 EDT, 4 September 2026 | Updated: 15:19 EDT, 4 September 2026 A wealth manager who stole footballer Edgar Davids' £188,000 art collection failed to turn up to court after she was hit in the head by a piece of luggage.Nabila Habiby secured £31,500 in loans on 37 artworks belonging to Mr Davids after the former Tottenham midfielder gave her the keys to his home in Hadley Wood, Hertfordshire.The former Premier League star, 53, who played for Barcelona, the Netherlands, and Tottenham, trusted the 39-year-old to store his possessions during a house move to central London in December 2014.But Mr Davids realised he was duped out of the artworks, which he believed were in a Safestore storage locker in Enfield, north London, when he received an Instagram message from a buyer in Hong Kong.Habiby had instead taken Mr Davids' collection, including works purchased from the Opera Gallery in New York, to pawnbrokers, 25 of which have still not been recovered.She pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud in September 2025 and was released on bail after she was warned she could be jailed for 34 months.The first sentencing in March was delayed when she made a failed bid to withdraw her guilty pleas and on September 4, Habiby was due to be sentenced again at Wood Green Crown Court.However she was absent from the dock after a piece of luggage hit her on the head while she was on the way to the airport. Nabila Habiby, 38 (pictured) faces jail for fraud after failing to withdraw her guilty plea today Dutch football star Edgar Davids (pictured) had his £188,000 art collection stolen by wealth manager Habiby - and only found out when a buyer messaged him on Instagram Mr Davids (pictured playing for Barcelona in 2004), had an art collection containing works purchased from the Opera Gallery in New YorkDefence barrister Hannah Thomas said: 'I received correspondence this morning from my solicitor, at around 9.30am, saying on her way to the airport to come here she had been hit on the head by a piece of luggage en route.'Ms Thomas added: '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 received 'inadequate' medical evidence from Belgium, where Habiby now lives, to support the story.However the judge adjourned the sentencing, so the original judge who oversaw Habiby enter her guilty pleas could sentence her.Her sentencing hearing has been scheduled for September 23 where she has been told to provide a full medical report to justify her absence from court on September 4. It has now been nearly five years since Habiby was first charged with fraud after a Metropolitan Police investigation over the offences which date back to 2015 and 2016.Get your news delivered straight to you by 7am - sign up to our new Morning Mail newsletter for FREEDo YOU have a story? Email joshua.haining@dailymail.co.uk