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Body of Abu Dhabi sheikh missing in air crash is found in Moroccan reservoir

30 March 2010 18:22 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. Ahmed bin Zayed al-Nahayan, head of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, recovered from water near Rabat, APA reports quoting â€œThe Guardianâ€ newspaper.
The body of the managing director of one of the world’s largest sovereign funds, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, has been found after his disappearance in a plane crash last week, a Moroccan government official said today.
"This unhappy news is confirmed," the official told Reuters, without providing further details. The Maghreb Arab press agency reported that the body of Sheikh Ahmed bin Zayed al-Nahayan had been recovered from a reservoir near the Moroccan capital, Rabat, where his aircraft went down on Friday.
A member of the Abu Dhabi ruling family, he was the younger brother of the ruler of Abu Dhabi, who is also president of the United Arab Emirates,
Sheikh Ahmed was in his early 40s and was ranked 27th on Forbes’ list of the world’s most powerful people last year. His sovereign wealth fund is believed to have assets of around $500bn (Â£335bn) to $700bn, ranging from Citigroup bonds to a stake in Gatwick airport to residential property in major cities.
Few details emerged about the accident except that the pilot of the craft was rescued after it crashed near Sidi Mohamed ben Abdallah dam.
Residents of the area said that the sheikh was a regular visitor and that the Abu Dhabi royal family had a palace overlooking the reservoir, set in green rolling hills. The lake is swollen as a result of high rainfall and estimated to be about 60 metres deep.
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority is considered the world’s largest state-run investor, funnelling funds from the emirate’s oil exports into shares and bonds overseas from its headquarters in a gleaming skyscraper on the island city’s shoreline.
Sheikh Ahmed, like the organisation he led, shunned the media. He was the son of the founder of the seven-member UAE federation, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahayan, and worked as a European equities analyst at the Abu Dhabi authority for six years before becoming its boss.
The fund rarely reveals details of its investment strategy or investments. In its first detailed report, published this month, it said it aimed to be more transparent. It also said it returned 6.5% on an annualised basis over a 20-year period as of 31 December 2009 and 8% over a 30-year period. The chairman of the fund is Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan, ruler of Abu Dhabi and president of the UAE.