Shakeel Muzaffar is accused of fraud and is internationally wanted. NRK found it. – Documentary

Conversations with Shakeel

A man on the run needs friends, access to money, a place to hide.

Sources said Shakeel had properties in Barcelona.

But his name did not appear anywhere in the Spanish real estate registers.

But then, not far from the lively Rambla shopping street, was an apartment building that appeared to be owned by someone close to Shakeel. The building housed shops and apartments. And maybe Shakeel?

Tanned tourists filled La Rambla when we took a detour to the Raval neighborhood, a neighborhood the police had warned against. Tourists had been robbed here.

Several looked at us. One man picked up the phone and followed us to the right, another with a phone to the left.

The police had said that this was the way they operated, with guards warning of strangers entering.

We had obtained a phone number that Shakeel used and tried to call several times, both with a Norwegian and a Spanish number. Without getting an answer.

Was he waiting for us?

There was a cell phone downstairs in the apartment building. In the middle of the shop was a staircase that led up to the second floor. Maybe Shakeel was there.

Can we borrow the bathroom? The clerk hesitated, but he said yes. He sent us to the second floor.

There were many doors. One went to an apartment under renovation, the others were closed. No Shakeel to hear, no Shakeel to see.

Disappointment.

However, several addresses had appeared. Someone has recorded names that may be similar to Shakeel’s or someone from his family.

We drove on, parked some distance from an address, opened the car door.

Then the phone rang. It was Shakeel.

It was the first time we came into direct contact with the man we had been looking for for months.

He claimed not to be aware of the process. And she denied that she did anything wrong.

There the conversation stopped. She never called back.

We didn’t find it in Barcelona and we didn’t have a concrete place to go in Istanbul.

But there was a lead we hadn’t followed yet.

Me Romania?

Shakeel’s partner, the one who was the driver when Shakeel met Jasmin, was now living in Romania.

We checked if Shakeel could have connections with that country as well. We found it.

The companies Shakeel owned appeared in the Romanian registers: “Green Clever Energy SRL” and “RSR Norwegian Investment SRL”, with addresses in two cities in different parts of Romania.

The companies had no employees and were recorded at a loss.

One company was in Bistrita, a small town in the north of Dracula’s kingdom, Transylvania. Far from an airport.

After several hours in the car, we approached. The speed has decreased.

Was Shakeel hiding at the company address?

The company would be involved in the production and distribution of electric motors and control units. There was no sign of any car repair shop here.

The only things we saw are a poker place, a Chinese restaurant, a German shop and a vegetable market.

We have waited. The chip. I was hoping to see Shakeel come in or out.

No one appeared who looked like him.

To warm up

One city remained. A seven hour drive from Bistrita is Arad, a city with over 150,000 inhabitants. The city was anything but a typical holiday destination for Norwegians, a perfect place to hide and live a fairly normal life.

The company address was a dead end.

However: a man who looked like Shakeel was seen in the area. He had to live in a house there and often visited a cafe in the city.

With that perk we found a kebab shop that a “Shakeel” had recently reviewed. Five stars. The food was good. ”The shop was five minutes from the house Shakeel was supposed to live in. Imagine if this was the real Shakeel?

The road to the newly renovated house was unpaved, the dust whirling up as the cars arrived. The children played while the adults were in the street looking after.

Our car had dirty windows and the camera was screwed on.

In front of the house was a black BMW.

Then came a man in dark clothes and sunglasses.

There he was, the man who had escaped from the police, the man we had been looking for for months.

Shakeel Muzaffar looked straight into the lens. But has he seen us?

Shortly after Shakeel left, we followed him. A small town in Romania has many small streets and at some point we lost sight of it.

It was time for lunch. We knew where her usual coffee was. We drove as fast as possible.

There, on the open terrace, he sat down. At the table with three other men.

We got out of the car and headed towards him.

Shakeel talked to us for over eight minutes. He denied it all and said we should talk to his attorney about him.

He believed that he did not scam anyone for money, that those who believe they were scammed were involved themselves. He said it was the others who were snakes, not him.

He said the whole thing “was shit” and that he would appear in court in January 2023.

Then he got in the car and drove. Still sought after internationally.

Still on the run.

What happens now?

The phone went silent.

Just one word from Adam: “Wow”.

And then:

– Now I hope that the police arrest him, that he takes responsibility for what he did, that he comes to meet us.

Jasmin was also surprised:

– Thank God. Now I’m shivering. Now the police have to catch him. This cannot continue.

Police said defendant Shakeel Muzaffar was still wanted internationally.

– We hope that cooperation with Interpol will lead to progress, said police lawyer Fredrik Krokaas in the Southeast Police District.

– This is a matter of priority for us. As soon as the accused returns to Norway, the trial will take place.

All the charges against Shakeel Muzaffar in this case have been filed with his lawyer Farid Bouras at the Elden law firm. He replies in an email:

“My client denies guilt after indictment. Other than that, he has no comment.”