The story of how the A340 came into Gaddafi's possession is a fascinating story in its own right. The A340 was ordered by Brunei's Prince Jefri Bolkiah in August 1996, who spent $250 million on its acquisition and decoration. Now $250 million is already a lot of money, but it's even more so considering it was not even his own money.
You see, Prince Jefri had somewhat of a habit for misappropriating Brunei's state budget, and was accused of unrightfully taking $14.8 billion from Brunei's treasury and spending it on his many palaces, yachts and no less than nine private jets, including this A340.
Anything but amused by his brother's actions, the Sultan of Brunei exiled his brother and sold all of his belongings. After Prince Jefri spent $250 million on 'his' A340, the Sultan sold it for only $95 million to Saudi Arabia's Prince al-Waleed bin Talal Al Saud, one of the richest people in the world, just three years later.
Looking to make a quick buck, the Prince then attempted to sell it to Gaddafi, which would bring about even more scandals.
The first obstacle Prince al-Waleed ran into was that Colonel Gaddafi simply had no interest in the A340 when it was first offered to him in 2001.
Already not a keen flyer to begin with, Libya's sanctions regime and its increasing political international isolation meant Gaddafi hadn't flown abroad for more than a decade.
In the 1970s and 1980s, when he was still a welcome guest in many parts of the world, Gaddafi simply used a commercial Libyan Airlines Boeing 707, apparently lacking any interest in a private aircraft for his personal use.
This posed somewhat of a problem for al-Waleed, as no other party had shown an interest in the A340. The lack of interest from buyers might have been influenced by the aircraft's interior and exterior, both of which were remarkably unappealing.
Prince Jefri had chosen a largely similar interior design to his brother's three A340s but in a silver-grey finish rather than the gold one used by his brother the Sultan. Seemingly satisfied with the result, the A340's exterior received the same treatment.
Undeterred by Gaddafi's disinterest in buying a $120 million flying limousine, Prince al-Waleed commissioned Daad Sharab, a Jordanian fixer with connections to Gaddafi, in an attempt to convince him to buy the aircraft.
Nonetheless, it took Sharab nearly 1.5 years to secure a meeting with him, which finally occured in January 2003. During the meeting, Gaddafi eventually exhibited an interest in the Airbus but mentioned that he was also assessing several other aircraft that had been presented to him.
Several days later, Sharab reached out to the Prince and advised sending the Airbus A340 and a Boeing 767, which he was also trying to sell, for Gaddafi to inspect.
In April 2003, both aircraft flew to Libya, with the Prince personally traveling on the A340. Gaddafi liked the Airbus, and asked that the plane remained in Tripoli until a sale could be finalised, a measure intended to prevent any tampering with the aircraft. The Prince returned to Saudi Arabia on the Boeing 767, presumably satisfied with the prospect of a successful deal.
Apparently, there was some confusion between the Prince and Sharab regarding the price they were seeking for the A340. Sharab believed it was $135 million, while the Prince thought $110 million would be the maximum they would get.
Even at this price, the sale would still net a $15 million profit for him. Nonetheless, the Prince attempted to increase his earnings by tricking Gaddafi into believing that the cost of the A340 was actually much higher, writing him that ''the aircraft price of $135 million represents what the aircraft cost us. This includes the various extras and modifications that were made to the aircraft since it we bought it.”
When later questioned about these modifications, the Prince admitted that no modifications had actually been made to the A340. It wasn't only Gaddafi who was being deceived: Sharab claimed that the Prince had initially agreed to provide her with any amount exceeding $110 million if she managed to sell the aircraft for more, something the Prince later denied.
In June 2003, it was Sharab who successfully brokered the deal with Gaddafi to sell the Airbus A340 for $120 million, with an additional $20 million in Libyan investments embarked for the Prince's agricultural project in neighbouring Egypt.
The payment was to be split into two installments, with the first $70 million going directly to the Prince.
The Libyan Agriculture Investment Company was to provide the remaining $70 million for the second installment, with $20 million designated for the agricultural project and the remaining $50 million for the aircraft.
The Prince received the initial $70 million payment in August 2003, but the $50 million for the aircraft and the $20 million for his agricultural project did not materialize.
In February 2004, the chairman of Libya's Afriqiyah Airways, who would operate the A340 on behalf of Gaddafi, met with the Prince's representatives.
In the course of the meeting, the chairman said Gaddafi believed $70 million was a fair price and that he wouldn't pay any more than that.
In all likelihood, his decision to acquire the A340 was primarily influenced by its size and the presence of four engines.
While the significance of four engines might not be immediately evident to the average reader, prominent Middle Eastern government leaders typically possess either a four-engined Boeing 747-400 or the more modern and larger Boeing 747-8, as larger aircraft convey greater prestige for the leader and their nation.
The twin-engined A300 may have contributed to a sense of inferiority on Gaddafi's part when he compared his aircraft to those of other Arab leaders, whose planes clearly outclassed his.
If the spectacle of two billionaires bickering over the price of a four-engined private jet formerly owned by a third billionaire isn't sufficiently amusing, the situation is about to become even more comical.
Gaddafi evidently had no intention of paying the $50 million he still owed to Prince al-Waleed, but the Prince had a hidden ace in his hand.
The A340 was still parked in Tripoli, where the Prince had left it since April 2003. However, to keep an aircraft in an airworthy condition, it has to undergo regular maintenance checks, typically carried out in Europe.
In March 2004, it was the A340's turn to be sent to Germany for routine maintenance. The Libyan authorities expected its return to Tripoli, but to their surprise, it never returned. The aircraft had seemingly vanished without a trace.
While Gaddafi previously appeared to have hoped that the Prince would acknowledge his $25 million loss and formally transfer ownership of the A340, the Colonel was now left without the A340 and the $70 million he had already paid for it.
Gaddafi must have assigned his top agents to the task of finding the aircraft, as he would soon discover that Prince al-Waleed, still the legitimate owner of the aircraft, had the A340 flown back to Saudi Arabia after it completed its maintenance in Germany without notifying Gaddafi, an action that deeply infuriated the Colonel.
The Jordanian fixer Sharab found herself entangled in the midst of this escalating dispute and ultimately could do little but convey Gaddafi's demand for the immediate return of the aircraft or a refund of the $70 million. Realising that the aircraft might have been tampered with during its stay in Saudi Arabia, Gaddafi subsequently decided to cancel the deal altogether.
In response, the Prince expressed his willingness to cancel the deal for the Airbus but intended to retain the $70 million as compensation.
Prince al-Waleed had, quite literally, fucked the Colonel.
While Gaddafi had previously attempted to resolve conflicts through outright invasions of other countries, the absence of a land border with Saudi Arabia and the lack of a functional military rendered this option unfeasible.
With the Prince in possession of both the A340 and the $70 million, Gaddafi had no leverage remaining. After three months of deadlock, Sharab devised a plan to resolve the impasse by arranging a face-to-face meeting between Prince al-Waleed and Gaddafi in Tripoli.
After all, she stood to earn a commission of at least $10 million. To avoid the risk of Gaddafi impounding one of the Prince's private aircraft out of revenge, the Prince traveled to Libya on a chartered jet.
A public meeting between the Prince and Gaddafi followed, during which the Colonel finally declared his intention to pay the outstanding $50 million. But when ironing out the details in another meeting a day later, the Libyan side had apparently reversed its decision once more and once again asked for the return of the $70 million.
Having travelled to Tripoli to rescue the deal and enduring a lengthy meeting with Gaddafi, Prince al-Waleed must have been far from amused by this sudden turn of events.
But eventually, the Libyan side relented and agreed to proceed with the purchase. While the $20 million investment in the Prince's agricultural project was no longer on the table, the Libyans would pay the outstanding $50 million to finally get ownership of the aircraft.
The new argeement was signed by the Prince in September. However, the Libyan side waited another six months to put down their signature, and it took them a further six months to actually pay the Prince. In September 2006, the ownership of the aircraft was finally in Gaddafi's hands, concluding a $120 million deal that had taken 3.5 years to finalize.
The Prince gained $25 million in profits from the sale, though the Jordanian fixer Sharab insisted that a $10 million commission was owed to her. Curiously, it was the Prince who, this time around, refused to make the payment.
However, the Prince not paying her was not Sharab's biggest concern during this period, as she had apparently incurred the wrath of Gaddafi to the extent that he had her placed under house arrest in Tripoli, despite her Jordanian citizenship.
The justification for her house arrest seemed to be nothing more than Gaddafi's paranoia, as he claimed that Sharab was conspiring with Abdullah II of Jordan and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to overthrow him, stating: "I know what your King is planning against me with the President of Egypt''.
Denied the chance to defend herself against these allegations, she endured 21 months of house arrest in Tripoli until she was freed by Libyan rebels during the 2011 Libyan Revolution.
After her release, she continued her efforts to claim the $10 million from Prince al-Waleed, which she was ultimately awarded by a British court in July 2013.
Despite speculation that Gaddafi had used the A340 to escape to Venezuela or Zimbabwe during the Libyan Revolution, he remained in Libya until the United Nations imposed a no-fly zone, which effectively severed his last viable escape route. Gaddafi was killed in October 2011.
