Just days after a brazen theft at a Soho pub, whiskey tycoon Jay Bradley was photographed enjoying cocktails at his trendy King's Road restaurant, Boha London. Unbeknownst to most, Bradley had just suffered an extraordinary financial loss—a £2.2 million Fabergé egg and watch set had been stolen from his employee's handbag.
The Night of the Theft
On November 7, 2024, Rosie Dawson, a director at Bradley's company, was in London's West End after a work event where she had been showcasing the emerald-encrusted Fabergé egg and matching watch to prospective buyers. She had carefully wrapped the treasures in bubble wrap and placed them in her £1,600 Givenchy handbag, alongside a MacBook Air, Apple AirPods, and a Mulberry card holder.
At the Dog and Duck pub in Soho, Dawson set her bag down in the outdoor smoking area while greeting friends. Meanwhile, Enzo Conticello, a 29-year-old pickpocket also known as Hakin Boudjenoune, was prowling the area. CCTV footage captured him inside the pub before he snatched Dawson's bag and fled.
The Aftermath and Investigation
Within minutes, Dawson received a fraud alert: Conticello had attempted to use her bank card for a £33.48 purchase at a nearby Co-Op. Unaware of the priceless egg in the bag, Conticello used the cards to buy cigarettes and drinks. Two further attempts failed as the cards had been cancelled.
Conticello later pleaded guilty to theft and three counts of bank card fraud. At his sentencing this week, where he received 27 months in jail, he claimed he had given the bag and its contents to his drug dealer in exchange for cocaine. The whereabouts of the Fabergé egg and watch remain unknown.
The Mysterious Response
Despite the staggering value of the theft, no police appeals were launched, and CCTV footage was never released to the public. Conticello was only arrested by chance in Belfast in early 2025 after an unrelated theft in Northern Ireland. The egg, insured for just £106,700 despite its £2.2 million worth, was not registered as lost on the Art Loss database until August 2025—nearly a year after the theft—raising questions about potential legitimate sales beforehand.
Bradley himself made no public appeal for the items. Instead, his social media posts continued to highlight his jet-set lifestyle, featuring private jets, yachts in Monaco, and trips to Thailand, Bali, Ibiza, and the French Alps. The entrepreneur, a friend of mixed martial artist Conor McGregor, lives in Dubai and frequently appears in Forbes magazine.
The Emerald Isle Collection
The stolen treasures were part of the Emerald Isle Collection, created by Fabergé for Bradley and unveiled on St. Patrick's Day in 2021. Each set includes a walnut wood cabinet with two bottles of 30-year-old ultra-rare whiskey, the egg and watch in locked compartments, a humidor with Cohiba cigars, and accessories. One set sold in 2024 for $2.8 million (£2.1 million), touted as "the world's most expensive whiskey."
Jay Bradley's Complex Background
Bradley, 45, founded Craft Irish Whiskey in 2018, turning it into a multi-million pound enterprise. Born in Dublin, he lived an itinerant childhood in Australia and the United States. He left school at 15, working in furniture and later selling software in Australia, where he was associated with notorious criminal Stephen Keating, who was later imprisoned for fraud. Bradley has insisted he cut ties with Keating long ago.
After stints in real estate in the US and running a bar in New Zealand, Bradley returned to Ireland in 2018 when his father was terminally ill. He launched the Devil's Keep whiskey brand and later the Whiskey & Wealth Club, an alternative investment company selling casks of whiskey. The industry faced controversy, with the BBC revealing scams in whisky barrel investments, though Bradley's firm was not implicated. He resigned as a director in September 2025, citing a desire to focus on his whiskey brand.
Business and Financial Intricacies
Bradley's business activities are complex. He has been a director of at least 10 companies, most now dissolved. The UK arm of his investment firm reported £15.8 million turnover and £1.5 million pre-tax profit in 2023, paying out £8.3 million in dividends. Last month, HMRC petitioned to wind up the firm, though Bradley's bespoke whiskey business continues to thrive, with plans to buy a distillery in Ireland.
Rosie Dawson's career appears unaffected by the theft. Her mother, Leslie, stated that Dawson is "very upset about it all" as the story has gone viral. The case remains a curious blend of high-stakes theft, luxury branding, and unanswered questions about insurance and recovery efforts.
