LONDON // A man has denied robbing a UAE embassy official at gunpoint as he withdrew millions of pounds from a central London bank.
Trevor Mair, 45, from Croydon, south London, appeared at Isleworth Crown Court on Monday to face charges of robbery and possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear. He remains free on bail.
A second defendant, Johnathon Haynes, 36, from Horley in Surrey, who is in custody and faces the same charges, did not appear.
"There was a problem producing him from custody and he therefore couldn't enter a plea," said Nicholas Inge, Mr Haynes's lawyer.
According to the Metropolitan Police, the robbery took place on a busy street in Knightsbridge, an affluent area of London, at 4pm on June 24.
The embassy official had reportedly withdrawn £2 million (Dh11.7m) on behalf of members of the Dubai Royal Family, who were visiting London, and was loading it into a car outside a branch of Emirates NBD.
The robbers sped off with the money but were apprehended 20 minutes later. A third man is believed to have escaped. The police later recovered the money.
The Crown Prosecution Service declined to give further details of the case, saying it could prejudice the trial.
The next hearing will be on November 21 and the trial is set to begin on December 12.