By TOM PFEIFFER & STANLEY CARVALHO | REUTERS
RABAT/ABU DHABI: The body of the managing director of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), one of the world's biggest sovereign funds, has been found after a glider crash in Morocco, state media said on Tuesday.
Rescuers had combed the area for four days after the aircraft with Sheikh Ahmed bin Zayed Al-Nahayan on board crashed into a reservoir near the Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdallah Dam, south of the Moroccan capital, Rabat.
State television in the United Arab Emirates interrupted its broadcasts to air readings from the Qur’an. "Sheikh Ahmed ... is in the care of God," read a banner on Abu Dhabi Television.
Sheikh Ahmed, 41, was the younger brother of the ruler of Abu Dhabi, who is also president of the United Arab Emirates. Sheikh Ahmed was ranked No. 27 on Forbes list of the world's most powerful people last year.
His ADIA fund is believed to have assets of between $500 billion and $700 billion, ranging from Citigroup bonds to a stake in Britain's Gatwick Airport.
Experts expect the leadership role at ADIA to remain within the ruling family.
"ADIA is essentially a custodian of Abu Dhabi's wealth, which belongs to the ruling family, so one can infer from that," said Khuram Maqsood, managing director at Emirates Capital.
"ADIA is an extremely well institutionalized and professional organization. It's the largest sovereign fund, or certainly among the top three globally. It is unlikely that there will be any change out of the ordinary as a result of this development". Residents of the area near Rabat said the sheikh was a regular visitr and the Abu Dhabi ruling family had a palace overlooking the reservoir, which was swollen after heavy rain and estimated to be about 60 meters (190 feet) deep.
ADIA funnels funds from the emirate's oil exports into stocks and bonds overseas from its headquarters in a gleaming skyscraper on the island city's shoreline.
Sheikh Ahmed is 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 ADIA for six years before becoming its boss.
In June 2008, Sheikh Nasser Bin Zayed Al Nahayan, a brother of Sheikh Ahmed's, was killed when the helicopter carrying him and his colleagues crashed into the Gulf.
The state news agency WAM announced three days of mourning starting on Wednesday.
Arab News
