Who is Rinson Jose, Kerala-born businessman linked to Lebanon pager blasts?
Lebanon pager blasts: Rinson Jose, a Kerala-born Norwegian businessman, has been accused of selling pagers linked to the Lebanon blasts through his company Norta Global, according to Hungarian news site Telex.
Norta Global, based in Sofia, Bulgaria, also took down its website on Thursday, which highlighted its services in technology consultancy. The Norta office could also not be located at its accused address.
The Bulgarian national security agency initiated an investigation into the claims and denied on Friday that the company had any involvement in the delivery of pagers to Hezbollah.
They noted that the firm's owner had "not carried out any transactions linked to the sale or purchase of the merchandise" or that "fall under laws on terrorism financing".
Jose was born in Wayanad, Kerala, and moved to Norway to pursue higher education a few years ago. He temporarily worked in London before returning to Oslo.
According to relatives, Jose lives with his wife in Oslo and has a twin brother in London. "We speak on the phone every day. However, we have had no contact with Jose in the last three days. He is a straightforward individual, and we fully trust him. He will not be involved in any wrongdoing. Thankachen, the 37-year-old's relative, said.
Jose founded Norta Global Ltd on April 22. Last year, the company situated in Sofia, Bulgaria, reported $ 725,000 (roughly Rs 6 crore) in revenue from consultancy activities outside the European Union.
According to his LinkedIn profile, he has also spent nearly five years working in digital customer support for Norwegian press company DN Media, according to news agency AFP.
- PTC NEWS
