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Ashraf Marwan |
Billionaire falls to his death in St James’s Park
Tributes paid to businessman
THE son-in-law of a former Egyptian president has been found dead outside his Mayfair mansion.
The body of Ashraf Marwan, 62, was discovered outside Carlton House, St James’s Park, on Wednesday.
Police said: “He may have fallen from a fourth floor balcony.”
Mr Marwan was married to Gamal Abdel Nasser’s daughter, Mona, and was private secretary to another former-president Anwar Sadat, who was shot in 1981.
He was suspected by British intelligence of being a “double agent” for Israel. It is believed he tipped off the Israelis about the start of the Yom Kippur war 1973.
Tributes to the Egyptian billionaire yesterday (Thursday) came rushing in to the West End Extra from his closest friends.
Businessman Said Bassily, who went to secondary school with Mr Marwan in Egypt and knew him from the early 1960s said: “As a friend I’m terribly shocked and sorry and I will really miss him. I knew him for a really long time. I knew him before he married Nasser’s daughter and then he was working for Sadat and the Arab Organisation for Industry. It was a very close relationship between us.”
He was noted for his generosity to the Coptic Orthodox church in Britain and donations to the British Egyptian Society.
He was also close friend of the late Lonrho multi-millionaire boss Tiny Rowland, who he advised in his long-running battle with Mohamed al-Fayed for control of Harrods.
A businessman in many fields, Mr Marwan opened tourist resorts in Egypt and Spain and ran a string of financial companies.
He had two sons, one of whom is married to the daughter of Amr Moussa, secretary general of the Arab League and former foreign minister of Egypt.
An associate, who did not wish to be named because of speculation Mr Marwan’s death could have been suspicious, said: “He was a very generous person and used to help underprivileged people through charity work. He had a lot of investments in clubs and hotels.
“He was a very serious but social person and was a great supporter of the British Egyptians.”
The 62-year-old Egyptian was believed to be working for Israel working for Mossad as a double agent.
It has been reported that he lived in fear of his life but ended it due a terminal illness. |
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