19 Facts About Ashraf Marwan

From 1969, Marwan worked at the Presidential Office, first under Gamal Abdel Nasser and then as a close aide to his successor, Anwar Sadat.

In 2002, it became known that Ashraf Marwan was recruited by Egyptian Intelligence and may have fed the Israeli Mossad with misleading information during the period leading up to the 1973 Arab-Israeli War.

In 1965, at the age of 21, Ashraf Marwan graduated Cairo University with a degree in chemical engineering and was conscripted into the army.

In 1968 Ashraf Marwan started working in the Presidential Office under Sami Sharaf, Nasser's aide-de-camp and the strongman of the Egyptian security service, who kept an eye on him.

In late 1968 Ashraf Marwan, Mona, and their new-born son, Gamal, left for London, allegedly for the continuation of Ashraf Marwan's studies.

Sadat, who recognized Ashraf Marwan's brilliance, recruited him to lead negotiations with Libya to obtain Mirage-5 aircraft, considered critical for the coming war against Israel.

The information that Ashraf Marwan provided made its way to the desks of Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir, Defense Minister Moshe Dayan, and Israeli Defense Force Chief of Staff Chaim Bar-Lev in raw form.

Eli Zeira, Director of Aman and Israel's military intelligence during the 1973 Arab-Israeli War, said that the Israeli Agranat Commission, which investigated Israeli leaders for the reasons behind their failure in the war, said that Ashraf Marwan, who was known by many nicknames, conveyed misleading information to Israel, under the direction of Egyptian president Anwar Sadat, to earn their trust.

On 14 February 1974, Ashraf Marwan became Secretary to the President of the Republic for Foreign Relations, a new position that reflected Sadat's ruling style.

In 1995, during a dispute for control of Chelsea FC between the sitting chairman Ken Bates and Matthew Harding, it was revealed in the media that Ashraf Marwan owned 1.5 million shares at the club.

In 2000, Ashraf Marwan had opened a Credit Suisse bank account, even though he clearly was a politically exposed person; this became known as part of the Suisse secrets revelations.

Some Israeli officials refused to accept the fact that he was playing the Mossad into his hands and claim that Ashraf Marwan worked for the Mossad only some evidence is to the contrary of this claim.

However, Eli Zeira, the director of Israel's Military Intelligence in 1973, said that the Israeli Agranat Commission, which investigated Israeli leaders for the reasons behind their failure in the war, said that Ashraf Marwan conveyed accurate information to Israeli intelligence only to deceive them and earn their trust.

One of Ashraf Marwan's sons was married to the daughter of former Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa.

News reports indicate that the Metropolitan Police Service increasingly believe Ashraf Marwan was murdered, a belief held by Ashraf Marwan's elder son, Gamal.

One witness, who was on the third floor of a nearby building, told police that he saw two men "wearing suits and of Mediterranean appearance" appear on the balcony moments after Ashraf Marwan's fall, look down, and then return inside the apartment.

At the time of the investigation, Ashraf Marwan's wife said she believed that Mossad was behind his death.

Ahron Bregman published in 2016 a book on his relationship with Ashraf Marwan called The Spy Who Fell to Earth.

Bar-Joseph's book addresses whether Ashraf Marwan was a genuine spy or a double agent.