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Umar Farooq Zahoor

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Umar Farooq Zahoor
Born1975 (age 48–49)
Norway
NationalityPakistani
Occupation(s)Businessman
Crime boss
Years active2000–present
Known forFinancial crimes in Norway
Criminal chargesGross fraud in Norway
Criminal penaltyFive years and nine months in prison
Criminal statusAbsconder
Spouse
Sofia Mirza
​
​
(m. 2006; div. 2009)​
PartnerVeena Malik
Websitesheikhumarfarooq.com

Umar Farooq Zahoor (Urdu: عمر فاروق ظہور; born 1975) is a Norwegian-born Pakistani businessman, crime boss, and convicted felon.[1] Since 2010, he is a fugitive sought in Norway for financial crimes. Previously, he was wanted by Interpol for similar crimes.[2] His family has been described as one of the largest mafia families of Norway.[1]

Zahoor was previously affiliated with Ameri Group, where he served as the chief executive officer (CEO) until August 2015.[3]

Early life

Zahoor was born in Norway to Pakistani parents who were originally from Sialkot. In the 2014 book by Hans Petter Aass and Rolf J. Widerøe titled The Coup: On the Inside of Norway's Most Powerful Mafia Family, the Zahoor family is described as one of the largest crime family of Norway.[1]

He initially studied in Norway before moving to the Middle East.[4]

Career

In 2000, Zahoor embezzled tickets worth over 15 million NOK through his own travel agency.[5][6]

In 2003, Zahoor founded a fake bank named, Banque Internationale Ltd. in Switzerland with Shaun Gregory Morgan who was from New Zealand.[7] Morgan was sentenced to three and a half years in prison in 2006, but in 2009, he received a sentence of five years after several victims came forward.[7][8] Umar Zahoor was wanted by Interpol for a number of charges, including defrauding 27 people of NOK 120 million through the fake bank in Switzerland.[9] In the same year, Zahoor was sentenced in the Oslo district court to one year in prison for gross embezzlement.[7][10]

In 2004, Zahoor was arrested in Pakistan and, according to him, tortured by the Pakistani police.[11] The arrest was based on a report staged by Imtiaz Ahmed Sheikh, a Turkish businessman and politician who was indicted the following year for extensive corruption.[12][7]

In 2010, Usman Zahoor, Zahoor's brother, and four fellow runners defrauded Randi Nilsen, Gunnar Block Watne's widow, of more than NOK 63 million. The police state that Usman Farooq Zahoor was the mastermind behind a fraud of more than NOK 111 million.[13] The money was transferred using a false power of attorney through Nordea's branch at Tveita in Oslo and ended up in Dubai, where it is believed to be controlled by Umar Zahoor.[14] Zahoor himself claims that he does not control this money.[15] In the same year, he lent five million NOK to the wind power company NBT AS.[16] In September 2011, these five individuals were sentenced in the Oslo District Court, and Usman Zahoor received the most severe sentence of ten years' imprisonment.[17] When the appeal case came up before the Borgarting Court of Appeal, he pleaded guilty to gross fraud.[18] The Court of Appeal found Usman Farooq Zahoor guilty of gross fraud but acquitted him and some of the co-accused of having acted as an organized criminal group. The court set the sentence for Usman Zahoor at five years and nine months in prison.[18] Later, the Supreme Court of Norway also issued Zahoor's arrest warrants in connection with one of Norway's biggest bank fraud cases, which involved money laundering.[19]

In November 2022, Zahoor revealed that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government had sold a Graff wristwatch, gifted to former prime minister of Pakistan Imran Khan by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman, for US$2 million. Khan later also acknowledged selling some gifts, including this watch, during his tenure as prime minister.[20][21][22] Imran Khan said he will approach international courts against Umar Zahoor, Jang Group over gift sale allegation.[23]

Wealth

Zahoor's investments span real estate, IT, energy projects, agriculture, and more across the United Arab Emirates and other countries. He maintained close ties with various royal family members in the Middle East and collaborates with several heads of state in Africa, Southeast Asia, the Caribbean, and South America.[4]

Awards and recognition

In August 2023, Zahoor received a medal by President of Equatorial Guinea Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo.[19]

In August 2024, it was reported that President Asif Zardari approved the Hilal-e-Imtiaz award for Zahoor for his role in the Toshakhana reference case against Imran Khan.[24]

Personal life

In 2006, he married Pakistani actress Sofia Mirza, and had twin daughters with her.[15] When the marriage was dissolved in 2009, the mother was granted custody of the twins, and for fear that Zahoor would take the daughters out of Pakistan, the children were put on a no-fly list to prevent them from leaving the country. In the same year, he kidnapped the daughters and smuggled them out of Pakistan using fake passports.[25] In 2013, it was announced that Zahoor had become engaged to Pakistani actress Veena Malik.[26] The following year, Malik was sentenced to 26 years in prison for blasphemy, but had already escaped to Dubai by then.[27]

References

  1. ^ a b c Sandelson, Solveig Grødem (28 October 2014). "Mafiafamilien der pengane rår". Aftenbladet.
  2. ^ "Umar Farooq Zahoor no longer subject to red notice: Interpol". The News International.
  3. ^ https://citifmonline.com/2015/12/umar-farooq-not-a-criminal-ameri-group/
  4. ^ a b "Who is Dubai-based tycoon Umar Farooq Zahoor?". www.geo.tv. 19 November 2022. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
  5. ^ Widerøe, Rolf J.; Foss, Amund Bakke; Henden, Harald (December 12, 2015). "Norsk politi har etterlyst 40-åringen over hele verden for bedrageri. VG fant signaturen hans på en milliardavtale i Ghana". VG.
  6. ^ Widerøe, Rolf J.; Aftenblad, Hans Petter Aass, Stavanger (December 19, 2010). "- Lokket nordmenn med falsk bank". VG.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ a b c d Widerøe, Rolf J.; Hopperstad, Morten S. (October 23, 2013). "Etterlyst for å ha laget falsk bank i Sveits". VG.
  8. ^ https://www.deseretnews.com/article/705353445/Holladay-man-gets-5-years-for-bank-fraud-scheme.html
  9. ^ "Wanted Persons / Internet / Home - INTERPOL". archive.ph. December 12, 2012.
  10. ^ Widerøe, Rolf J.; Foss, Amund Bakke (October 18, 2017). "Endelig renvasket etter å ha tatt ut 52 millioner i Dubai". VG.
  11. ^ Zaman, Kadafi (March 16, 2005). "- Jeg ble utsatt for tortur". VG.
  12. ^ "Turkish firms trapped in euro 9.37m scam". DAWN.COM. August 26, 2004.
  13. ^ Widerøe, Rolf J. (April 26, 2012). "Politiet: Han sto bak svindel for 111 millioner kroner". VG.
  14. ^ Henriksen, Thor Harald; Widerøe, Rolf J. (September 15, 2011). "Oslo tingrett etter Nordea-svindel-dommen: -Han forvalter de 60 millionene". VG.
  15. ^ a b Widerøe, Rolf J.; Henriksen, Thor Harald (September 20, 2011). "Nordea-svindelen: - Jeg har ikke noe av utbyttet". VG.
  16. ^ Henriksen, Thor Harald (October 28, 2014). "Påstander i ny bok: Svindel-utpekt lånte millioner til norsk kraftselskap". VG.
  17. ^ "Dømt til 10 år for Nordea-svindelen - Stocklink.no". July 30, 2012.
  18. ^ a b Widerøe, Rolf J.; Murtnes, Sindre (June 7, 2012). "Hovedmann bak Nordea-svindel fikk kuttet straffen med fire år". VG.
  19. ^ a b Widerøe, Rolf J.; Tobiassen, Markus (29 August 2024). "Etterlyst av Norge – får æresmedalje i Pakistan". VG (in Norwegian). Retrieved 4 September 2024.
  20. ^ Amin, Muzhira (16 November 2022). "Buyer claims he paid Farah Khan $2m to buy Toshakhana gifts". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
  21. ^ "Toshakhana exposé: Dubai-based businessman reveals Farah Gogi traded Imran Khan's costly gifts". www.geo.tv. Retrieved 2024-10-30.
  22. ^ "Imran Khan aides sold luxury watch gifted by Saudi Crown Prince, claims Dubai businessman". India Today. 2022-11-17. Retrieved 2024-10-30.
  23. ^ "Will approach international courts against Umar Zahoor, Jang Group over gift sale allegation: Imran". Islamabad Post. 2022-11-16. Retrieved 2024-10-30.
  24. ^ "Umar Farooq approved for Hilal-e-Imtiaz for exposing Toshakhana case". The Express Tribune. 14 August 2024. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
  25. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20190607140216/https://www.thenews.com.pk/archive/print/508197-briefs...
  26. ^ Widerøe, Rolf J. (September 3, 2013). "Svindelutpekt omtalt som milliardær". VG.
  27. ^ Eisenträger, Stian (November 27, 2014). "Bollywood-stjerne dømt til 26 års fengsel for blasfemi". VG.
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