Shaher Abdulhak Yemeni entrepreneur Country: Yemen

Biography of Shaher Abdulhak

Shaher Abdulhak, a Yemeni entrepreneur and representative of one of the wealthiest families in Yemen, founded the company 'Shaher Trading' in 1963. The company dealt with petroleum products, non-alcoholic beverages, tourism, and real estate. In the Yemeni press, he is known as the Sugar King. Abdulhak is not only a highly successful businessman but also a significant political figure, exerting a considerable influence on various processes in the country and being a close friend of Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Interestingly, despite his success and influence, Abdulhak avoids attracting unnecessary attention from the press. He never gives interviews and has never been photographed for local news publications until December 2009, when a photo of him was obtained by representatives of the Norwegian news outlet 'VG'. However, his attempt to remain in the shadows was disrupted in March 2008 when his son, Farouk Abdulhak, became a suspect in the rape and murder case of a 23-year-old Norwegian woman, Martine Vik Magnussen. The body of the victim was found in a pile of garbage in Farouk's basement, raising numerous questions for Shaher Abdulhak.

Shaher officially stated that he had no knowledge of his son's whereabouts. He hired a detective to search for his fugitive son and promised to disown Farouk if he turned out to be the killer. The Yemeni authorities also commented on the incident and pledged to extradite Farouk to the British authorities if he ever fell into their hands. However, Yemen does not have an official extradition agreement with Britain, making this extradition process contradictory to the country's constitution. So far, Farouk has not been apprehended. Shortly after the murder of Magnussen, Farouk fled the country on his father's private plane.

The next scandal involving Shaher Abdulhak was exposed by representatives of 'VG' in December 2010. The newspaper reported that a group of Norwegian parliament members officially requested several of Abdulhak's business partners, such as 'Coca Cola', 'Daimler AG', 'Whirlpool', 'Philips', 'Xerox', and 'Clorox', to reconsider their business relationships. According to 'VG', on December 16, 'Daimler' officially announced the termination of their contract with 'United Engineering & Automobile Co. Ltd', a Yemeni company directly associated with Abdulhak. This news seemingly greatly affected Shaher Abdulhak, as on February 15, 2011, the mentioned members of the Norwegian parliament received letters from Abdulhak threatening them with extensive legal proceedings. Following 'Daimler's' example, several other major companies, including 'Coca-Cola', 'Philips', and 'Whirlpool', severed their ties with Abdulhak.