In August, Zambian authorities raided a private plane a day after it landed in the country on August 13, arresting 10 people. They seized $5.7 million in cash, five weapons, and 127 kilograms of what appeared to be gold bars. The plane had come from Cairo.
Later, Zambian authorities’ tests revealed that the gold pieces were fake, mostly made of copper and zinc. “This was a clear case of fraud and gold forgery,” said Nason Banda, Director of the Environmental Protection Agency, in a press conference following the operation.
Documents obtained by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) in collaboration with Sky News revealed that the plane is owned by prominent Egyptian businessman Ibrahim Organi. In an affidavit submitted to the High Court in Zambia in December, Organi confirmed that he owns the plane.
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Egyptian businessman Ibrahim Organi is the Chairman of the Organi Group, which operates in various fields including construction, real estate, travel, and security. In January 2023, the Organi Group became an official sponsor of Al-Ahly Club.
Aviation registration documents from San Marino confirm that the company owns the Global Express plane seized by the Zambian authorities. In the affidavit published by the OCCRP, Organi clarified that neither he nor the plane’s management company, “Epps Air,” had any connection with the Egyptians who chartered the flight from Cairo to Lusaka.
In April, Zambian authorities released the plane after reaching an agreement with Organi’s company. Flight tracking data shows that the plane departed from Lusaka to Johannesburg on April 12.
The plane’s ownership and its links to Egypt have been the subject of speculation since the incident. The Associated Press reported that an Egyptian journalist was briefly detained in August after publishing the names of the Egyptians who were arrested on the plane.
Five of these Egyptians were charged with espionage, but the charges were dropped after four days. The sixth Egyptian, a flight attendant, was released without charge.
Meanwhile, five Zambians involved in this conspiracy are currently on trial in Lusaka on espionage charges. Both Zambia’s Drug Enforcement Commission and the Director of Public Prosecutions declined to comment, citing ongoing legal proceedings.
About a year after Sisi took office in Egypt, Ibrahim Organi spoke in a television interview with an Egyptian channel in 2015, explaining that “the end of the terrorists will be at the hands of the tribesmen” due to their knowledge of Sinai’s rugged geography. He added, “We can reach the terrorists even if they are asleep. We are part of the armed forces, and the armed forces are part of us. We fight side by side with the army.” The Egyptian army has never commented on Organi’s statements about “fighting side by side” with the army.
Organi, hailing from Sheikh Zuweid in North Sinai, was released in 2010 after being detained for about two years following clashes in 2008 between police forces and tribesmen in Sinai. At that time, Sinai Bedouins were accused of holding dozens of security personnel.
Organi’s name has become synonymous with wealth and vast influence in Egypt. Organi’s activities came into the spotlight after founding the “Sons of Sinai” company in Arish, North Sinai, in 2010, according to the company’s website. The “Sons of Sinai” company was responsible for bringing in materials needed to rebuild Gaza after a large-scale Israeli attack in 2014.
The company quickly transformed into the “Organi Group,” which comprises several companies under its umbrella, according to the group’s website. The group’s homepage indicates that its companies operate in construction, real estate, trade, transport, and tourism.
These areas open a wide range of questions, as Organi owns a tourism company accused of charging exorbitant amounts from Gaza residents wishing to escape the ongoing war in the region to enter Egypt through the Rafah border crossing, the only border crossing that connects Gaza to the outside world, away from Israeli control.
