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

The conversation with Shakeel

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

Sources had said that Shakeel had properties in Barcelona.

But his name did not appear anywhere in Spanish property records.

But then, not far from the bustling shopping street of La Rambla, there was an apartment building that seemed to be registered in the name of someone close to Shakeel. The building housed shops and apartments. And maybe Shakeel?

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

Several observed us. One man picked up his phone and followed us on the right, another with a phone on the left.

The police had said that this was how they operated, with guards notifying when strangers entered.

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

Was he waiting for us?

On the lower floor of the apartment building was a mobile phone. In the middle of the shop there was a staircase that went up to the second floor. Maybe Shakeel was there.

Could we borrow the toilet? The store clerk hesitated, but said yes. He sent us up to the second floor.

There were many doors. One went to an apartment that was being renovated, the others were closed. No Shakeel to hear, no Shakeel to see.

Disappointment.

However, several addresses had appeared. Someone registered on names that could be similar to Shakeel’s or someone in his family.

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

Then the phone rang. It was Shakeel.

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

He claimed that he had not known about the trial. And denied that he had done anything wrong.

There the conversation stopped. He never called back.

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

But, there was one lead we hadn’t yet followed.

In Romania?

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

We checked whether Shakeel could also have connections to that country. We found that.

Companies in which Shakeel was part owner appeared in 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 registered with 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 decreased.

Was Shakeel hiding at the business address?

The company was allegedly involved in the production and distribution of electric motors and control units. Here there was no trace of any motor workshop.

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

We waited. The chip. Was hoping to see Shakeel go in or out.

No one who looked like him appeared.

Getting warmer

One city remained. Seven hours’ drive away from Bistrita is Arad, a city with over 150,000 inhabitants. The city was far from a typical holiday destination for Norwegians, a perfect place to hide and live a fairly normal life.

The company address had been a dead end.

Nevertheless: A man who looked like Shakeel was seen in the area. He was to live in a house there and often visited a café in the town.

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

The road to the newly renovated house was gravel, the dust swirled up when cars drove there. Children played, while adults were out in the streets looking after.

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

In front of the house was a black BMW.

Then a man with dark clothes and sunglasses came.

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 did he see us?

A little later Shakeel drove off, we followed. A small town in Romania has many small roads and at one point we lost sight of him.

It was lunch time. We knew where his regular cafe was. Drove as fast as we were allowed to.

There, on the outdoor terrace, he sat. At a table with three other men.

We got out of the car and walked towards him.

Shakeel spoke to us for over eight minutes. He denied everything and said we should talk to his lawyer.

He believed that he had not cheated anyone for money, that those who believe they have been cheated had been involved in it themselves. He said it was the others who were snakes, not him.

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

Then he got into the car and drove. Still internationally wanted.

Still on the run.

What happens now?

The phone went silent.

Just one word from Adam: “Wow.”

And then:

– Now I hope the police arrest him, that he takes responsibility for what he has done, that he comes and meets us.

Jasmin was also surprised:

– Thank God. Now I got chills. Now the police have to take him. This cannot continue.

The police said that the accused Shakeel Muzaffar was still internationally wanted.

– We hope the cooperation with Interpol leads to progress, said police attorney Fredrik Krokaas in the South-East police district.

– This is a matter of priority for us. As soon as the defendant is back in Norway, the trial will be carried out.

All allegations against Shakeel Muzaffar in this case have been submitted to his lawyer Farid Bouras at Elden law firm. He replies in an email:

“My client denies criminal guilt after the indictment. Beyond that, he has no comments.”