Kerala-born Norwegian businessman Rinson Jose has been accused of selling pagers linked to the Lebanon blasts through his company Norta Global, reported Hungarian news site Telex.
Norta Global, which is based in Sofia, Bulgaria, also deleted its website on Thursday, which advertised their work on technology consultancy. The Norta office also could not be found at its registered address.
Rinson Jose was contacted by news agency Reuters but declined to offer any comment.
The Bulgarian national security agency launched an investigation into the claims and on Friday denied that the firm had any involvement in the delivery of pagers to the Hezbollah.
They stated that the owner of the firm had “not carried out any transactions linked to the sale or purchase of the merchandise” or that “fall under laws on terrorism financing”.
The Kerala Police and central government agencies have conducted a background check on Jose’s family in his native village of Ondayangadi in Kerala, reports stated.
Rinson, son of tailor Moothedath Jose and Gracy, lives in Norway with his wife. His brother works in the UK and his sister is based is a nurse in Ireland. His uncle Thankachan said that the family had been unable to contact him for the past three days.
While Bulgarian authorities have cleared Rinson Jose’s involvement, Norway’s intelligence agency PST and the Oslo police are still investigating the matter.
Apart from his work as the owner of Norta Global, Rinson’s LinkedIn reveals that he has been working at the Oslo-based DN Media group for five years and has several years of experience working with brands and publications.
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