OSLO: Norway’s top prosecuting authority has dismissed a 16-year-old alleged corruption and fraud case involving Norwegian-Pakistani businessman Umar Farooq Zahoor, citing insufficient evidence to establish wrongdoing.
According to legal documents, prosecutors concluded that the available evidence was not strong enough either to proceed with a prosecution or to justify keeping the case open.
The decision also directs Norwegian law-enforcement authorities to take the necessary steps to withdraw any still-active wanted-person alerts or notices connected with the case, including those issued locally or internationally.
Case Dates Back to 2010
The case relates to an alleged multi-million-kroner fraud involving Nordea, one of Norway’s major banks, in 2010.
Zahoor had been accused of being among the principal figures allegedly involved in the fraud. However, he consistently denied the allegations and maintained that Norwegian authorities did not have sufficient evidence linking him to the wrongdoing.
According to the documents cited in the report, Zahoor had not visited Norway since 2005, despite the investigation relating to events in 2010.
Norwegian authorities had also sought his extradition from the United Arab Emirates. The extradition request was not accepted by the UAE authorities, with the case against him lacking sufficient evidence, according to the report.
Oslo Police Previously Recommended Closure
Norwegian law-enforcement authorities began investigating the matter in 2010, with Zahoor becoming part of the investigation and cooperating with police through his lawyers.
In 2012, Oslo Police reportedly closed the investigation on evidentiary grounds and recommended that the public prosecutor dismiss the case against Zahoor.
However, the file remained open for years under prosecutor Carl Graff Hartmann.
The continued existence of the case eventually became a major point of dispute between Zahoor and the Norwegian prosecutor.
Zahoor Accused Prosecutor of Targeting Him
In recent months, Zahoor initiated legal proceedings against Hartmann, alleging that the prosecutor had acted against him in coordination with the Norwegian tabloid Verdens Gang (VG).
Zahoor alleged that Hartmann had repeatedly supplied false or defamatory information to media contacts as part of what he described as a personal campaign against him.
These allegations are claims made by Zahoor and do not, by themselves, establish wrongdoing by the prosecutor or the media organisation.
Following the legal action, Norwegian authorities referred the matter to the chief prosecutor for review.
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Case Dismissed After Fresh Review
After receiving the file, the chief prosecutor reviewed the matter and subsequently decided to dismiss the case completely, according to the legal documents.
The decision was based on what prosecutors described as the state of the evidence, concluding that it was insufficient to justify continuing the proceedings.
Norwegian authorities also instructed law-enforcement agencies to address any remaining wanted-person alerts or notices associated with the case.
The development effectively ends the long-running Norwegian proceedings against Zahoor.
Earlier Pakistani Cases
The report also links the Norwegian police clearance to legal proceedings previously conducted in Pakistan.
An Oslo Police clearance letter, together with an investigation report prepared by Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), was reportedly considered in a May 2023 decision by Lahore judicial magistrate Ghulam Murtaza Virk.
That decision cleared Zahoor in two fraud and money-laundering cases registered against him in Pakistan in 2020.
The latest Norwegian decision is separate from those Pakistani proceedings, but Zahoor has cited the documents as part of his efforts to challenge allegations against him.
Zahoor Welcomes Decision
Reacting to the dismissal, Zahoor said through his Norwegian lawyer that he was relieved that the case had finally been brought to an end by the Norwegian authority that had pursued it.
He thanked the prosecutor who reviewed the matter and said the case had been based on what he described as untrue allegations.
The latest decision marks a significant development in a legal dispute that had remained unresolved for more than a decade. With Norwegian prosecutors concluding that the evidence was insufficient to continue the case, authorities are now expected to take steps to remove any remaining alerts or notices linked to the proceedings.
