Plate '1' smashes world record at $14.5mn

An Emirati businessman broke all records for the world’s most expensive number plate on Saturday, paying 52.2 million dirhams ($14.5 million) for plate number ‘1’ at an Abu Dhabi auction

Saeed Abdul Ghaffar Khouri more than doubled the current record held by Talal Ali Mohammed Khouri who paid 25.2 million dirhams for plate number ‘5’ in May 2000, also paying 11 million dirhams for the number '7' plate.

The auction, on behalf of Abu Dhabi police, generated a record 89 million dirhams from the sale of 90 plates, including numbers 96, 100, 212, 1111, 2001 and 31313.

The UAE now holds the seven most expensive plates in the world.

Proceeds from the auction will go towards building a national rehabilitation centre for traffic accident victims - the first of its kind in the UAE.