A Hong Kong socialite who had £10.4million worth of valuables stolen from her London mansion has spoken for the first time since the theft.
In Shafira Huang’s first public statement since the December 7 break-in to her £60million Primrose Hill house, she said the stolen items were ‘deeply personal’ and marked special life events.
The socialite released CCTV of the burglar pocketing handbags and jewellery on her social media.
‘What I’m sharing in this video is to remind us that what was taken from me wasn’t just physical—it was deeply personal,’ Ms Huang wrote.
‘Moments with loved ones, markers of growth, including some of them passed down from my mother and memories that can’t be replicated. I believe someone, somewhere, may know something.’
Footage from the interior of the northwest London property shows a masked man in a cap and dark clothing selecting a blue alligator skin Hermes clutch bag from Ms Huang’s collection of accessories.
The thief took just 19 minutes to steal a huge haul of gems, including custom necklaces, bracelets and rings, in a house with 13 bedrooms and eight live-in staff.
‘Every clue counts—I truly believe that if the responsible party is ever brought to justice, it will spare more families from enduring such a violation of safety and trust,’ Ms Huang continued.
The victim shared her email and phone number with her 15,000 Instagram followers in the hopes that anyone with information might come forward.
She also announced the founding of a community initiative designed to ‘enhance local safety and support a stronger police presence’.
Wealthy socialite Ms Huang, an art collector, and her property developer husband Vincent Wan were away from their home when the burglar struck last year.
The thief’s £10.4million haul included a Graff 10.73-carat diamond ring, two De Beers butterfly diamond rings and a Niloticus Lumiere necklace, along with Hermes handbags worth £150,000 and £15,000 in cash.
The man also stole a unique Fleur des Mers ring, encrusted with diamonds and sapphires, and a number of platinum necklaces and bracelets.
Four months after the heist, he remains at large.
The couple previously offered a reward of up to £500,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the thief and 10 per cent of the value of any recovered items.
Their chief of staff Csaba Virag, who has previously described the thief as moving ‘like Spider-Man’, was among eight staff in the property at the time.
He revealed that there is clear evidence of pre-planning by the thief but said that he doubts any employees were involved.
Among the theories raised is one that the thief posed as a prospective buyer of a nearby property that has a similar layout so he was able to prepare for the raid in advance while also surveying his target.
But Mr Virag, who acted as the family’s public spokesperson, believed there were several possibilities as to how the thief was able to execute the robbery.
‘Everyone’s first impression is that this must have been an inside job. But I am of the opinion that it was not an inside job,’ Mr Virag said.
‘I cannot disclose the full picture but there were a number of coincidences that were fortunate for the thief and unfortunate for the family.
‘There were so many things that went in favour of the thief that it was clearly pre-planned. He must have monitored the house, whether with inside information or not.
‘In my opinion, he could have used a drone for surveillance to see where to gain access.’
It was initially believed the suspect was armed with a blowtorch and entered the property using a ladder from the house next door, which was being renovated.
But Mr Virag later revealed that the intruder first tried a rear window backing on to the luxury home’s garden that was often the only one open – but not on that night.
He left marks, probably from a screwdriver or crowbar, from attempting to enter.
When that failed, the thief’s first stroke of luck, Mr Virag said, was that he managed to get in through a usually locked second-floor bathroom window at the back of the house.
All of this pointed to pre-planning and surveillance to assess the easiest possible means of entry.
His second piece of good fortune was that a live-in governess was not in her quarters when he clambered into her bathroom because she was in a meeting with Mr Virag in the basement.
Mr Virag said the intruder would have had to climb down onto a sink from the window but moved ‘like a cat’ to avoid making any marks on it.
The third coincidence is revealed on CCTV footage previously released by the family which shows the masked man striding across a landing just 63 seconds before a maid emerged from a lift.
The thief’s fourth stroke of luck came when he tried to leave through a rarely used guest room but he could not open the window from the inside and was forced to exit the same way as he came in.
That meant that there was a ‘high risk’ of the intruder, who appeared to be carrying a canister of noxious spray in case he was confronted, being seen but yet again he avoided detection.
Shafira Huang, also known as Sishuo Huang or Wan, the westernised version of her surname easier for non-Chinese speakers to pronounce, is believed to be in her mid 30s.
She is married to international property developer Vincent Wan, thought to be in his early 40s, who has substantial investments in Hong Kong, Dubai, New Zealand and Europe.
Their street, Avenue Road, is one of Britain’s wealthiest addresses, where properties go for an average of £15.1million at a time, and is home to scores of largely international billionaires and millionaires.
Detective Constable Paulo Roberts, investigating the burglary, said: ‘This is a brazen offence, where the suspect has entered the property while armed with an unknown weapon and violated the sanctuary of the victims’ home.’
Met Police confirmed the investigation is still ongoing. Anyone with information is urged to call police on 101 or message @MetCC on X quoting CAD reference 5775/07DEC24.