Influencer 'had no idea' about £140k watch robbery

An influencer accused of helping to rob a fashion designer of his diamond-encrusted watch in London's Mayfair had "no idea" the attack was going to happen, a court has heard.

Romanian entrepreneur Catalin Botezatu had been having dinner before he was allegedly robbed of his Richard Mille watch - worth more than £137,000 - by three men, Southwark Crown Court was told.

Abdel El Habchi, 30, who told the jury he has an online following of more than a million people in his native Morocco, said he "didn't know even that a watch was snatched or stolen until later on".

Co-accused Ali Eldahouzze, 22, also denies robbery, while a third man, Younes Djoudi, has pleaded guilty to the offence.

The court heard Botezatu had been smoking a cigar with a friend on the terrace of Latin American restaurant Amazonico in Berkeley Square on the evening of 28 January, and that the watch was cut from his wrist with a blade shortly before midnight.

El Habchi told jurors that while in Djoudi's car close to the restaurant, he sat in the back watching TikTok videos and heard Djoudi being "threatening" and aggressive towards Eldahouzze.

While walking around the area later on, he saw Djoudi "use his hand to grab something from the hand" of a man, the court heard.

Explaining why he ran from the scene, El Habchi said he panicked as he had never been in such a situation before.

He said: "To be honest with you I felt as if I was betrayed, I had no idea what was happening and I found myself in this problem."

Asked whether any threats had been made against him, El Habchi tearfully replied: "He turned to me and made a threat 'if you report anything to the police I will burn your kids'."

He said he was "under threat" and "scared" of Djoudi, who he claimed "has a lot of connections" and had threatened to "burn his kids".

"I was just concentrating on my kids' safety. I was really scared and I find myself in the middle of a deep problem."

The trial continues.

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