Followed by more than one million people, this Moroccan man stands trial for stealing a €200,000 watch

Abdel El Habchi, 30, is appearing before Southwark Crown Court alongside Ali Eldahouzze, 22. Both deny the theft charge. A third man, Younes Djoudi, has pleaded guilty.

The case concerns a diamond- and crystal-encrusted Richard Mille estimated to be worth around 200,000 euros. On January 28, Catalin Botezatu was outside the Amazonico restaurant, in Berkeley Square, in the upmarket Mayfair district, when he was attacked.

The fashion designer, who has notably worked with Vogue and Versace, told jurors that three men had surrounded him. Two allegedly restrained him while a third used a sharp object to cut the watch’s strap directly from his wrist.

According to the prosecution, the three men had identified their target before taking action. Abdel El Habchi gives a completely different account.

Originally from the Casablanca region, he says he arrived in the United Kingdom in 2019 on a spouse visa. Married and the father of two children, he worked as a security guard. But he also has a substantial online following: around one million followers on Facebook and approximately 350,000 on Instagram, in addition to his TikTok account, The Daily Mail reports.

“I had no idea what was going to happen”

The Moroccan says he was with Ali Eldahouzze when the latter received a call from Younes Djoudi asking him to meet him in Mayfair. Once in Djoudi’s car near the restaurant, El Habchi says he remained seated in the back watching videos on TikTok.

He says he then accompanied the two men on foot and saw Djoudi grab something from a man’s wrist. When the others began to run, he says he panicked and fled as well.

“I had no idea this was going to happen. I did not take part and I did not even know that a watch had been snatched or stolen until I learned about it later,” he told the jurors.

The prosecution put a completely different interpretation of events to him. Prosecutor Arizuna Asante asked him whether the real purpose of their presence in Berkeley Square was precisely to identify someone wearing a highly valuable watch. El Habchi answered in the negative.

The Moroccan also says he discovered the following day that Djoudi was in possession of the watch. He claims that he was then threatened: if he spoke to the police, Djoudi allegedly threatened to “burn” his children. He says he feared for their safety.

The three men were remanded in Wandsworth prison after their arrest. El Habchi also says he was assaulted there in April by around fifteen inmates and accuses Djoudi of instigating the attack.

Catalin Botezatu, for his part, said that he had genuinely feared for his life during the theft. His assistant tried to pursue the attackers but was unable to catch them.

The watch has not been recovered. According to the prosecution, its current value would now be considerably higher than 160,000 euros.