A notorious Kurdish gangster has fled Turkey to avoid extradition on drug-trafficking charges, a Swedish prosecutor has told The National.
Rawa Majid, 39, known as the Kurdish Fox, had been living in Turkey, where his citizenship protected him from being extradited to Sweden, and was widely accused of playing a major part in gang violence.
Authorities had hoped Majid’s prosecution on forgery charges would result in his citizenship being revoked, allowing his return to Sweden.
But Henrik Soderman, who submitted the first extradition request to Turkey, has now confirmed that Majid, who leads the Foxtrot Network of criminals, is no longer in the country.
“We have received information from Turkey that he's not in Turkey anymore,” he told The National. “I have asked for his extradition from Turkey but they rejected that because he wasn’t there.”
Despite Majid's move, Mr Soderman said he was determined to bring the Kurdish Fox to justice. “We have been looking for him for about five years now, and we haven't found him yet. But hopefully time is on our side,” he said.
The prosecutor would not, however, be drawn on where he believes Majid might be now, only saying “I’m going to keep that within the investigation for now”.
Majid's parents are reportedly living in the city of Sulaymaniyah, in Iraqi Kurdistan, and a Swedish politician familiar with the gangster's activities said he is “100 per cent certain” that he is currently hiding out in the border area of Iraq and Iran.
Working for Iran
Majid has been accused of working for Iran by carrying out attacks on Israeli and Jewish targets, and targeting opponents of Tehran's regime, which has resulted in him and the Foxtrot Network being placed under sanctions by the US.
He is the subject of an Interpol Red Notice, which states he is also wanted on murder and attempted murder charges, as well as drugs offences.
Majid reportedly owns a $2.1 million mansion in the Turkish coastal resort of Marmaris and a luxury flat overlooking Istanbul’s business district. Mr Soderman confirmed reports that Majid uses the name Miran Othman in Turkey. The US Treasury also stated he uses the name as an alias.
Among his other brushes with the law in Turkey was his arrest in 2023 in connection with the discovery of $12,400 and 2,400 Turkish lira found on a park bench in Marmaris that the police were able to link to him.
According to the US Treasury, the Foxtrot Network is “one of the most notorious criminal gangs based in Sweden, and has conducted shootings, contract killings, assaults and other forms of violence”.
The syndicate has a presence in other European countries, say the Americans.
Majid was reportedly arrested in Iran in October 2023 but remains at large and is described as a “fugitive” by the US Treasury, which says he was born in Iran but could also be an Iraqi citizen.
Alireza Akhondi, a Swedish MP for the Centre Party, told The National he believes Majid is hiding in an area where he can control his trafficking operations.
“I'm 100 per cent sure that he's in the mountain region between Iraq and Iran, which is a centre for smuggling,” said Mr Akhondi, who was born in Iran and is now a fierce critic of the regime and the activities of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
“We know that he was in an Iranian prison but was released and is also under heavy protection from the IRGC, who are involved in drug smuggling,” he said.
Mr Akhondi said he hoped the Iraqi authorities can work with Sweden to ensure Majid is extradited. “I'm quite sure that Swedish authorities are looking out for him, in Iraq. The question is, how strong are the Iraqi authorities? Are they capable of dealing with this because the Turkish authorities have been unable to.”
Majid’s family settled in the Swedish city of Uppsala when he was a child and he became involved in crime while growing up. He was convicted at 19 of burglary and cigarette smuggling, before he moved on to drug dealing.
He was sentenced to eight years in prison in Sweden in 2010 for drug offences, including the handling of cocaine imported from the Netherlands. Soon after his release he moved to Iraq and then to Turkey.
Foxtrot or Rumba
Also allegedly used by Iran to target its opponents is Majid’s former criminal associate, Ismail Abdo, who leads the Rumba organisation. The rival gangs are wanted by authorities in Sweden on suspicion of ordering killings in a brutal turf war over the country's illegal drugs market.
The violence between them has shattered Sweden’s reputation as a peaceful country and has seen a spate of bomb attacks, with criminals’ families targeted.
Children are recruited by criminal groups to carry out attacks on rivals as under Swedish law no one can be convicted until they are 15, with lighter sentences likely for under-18s.
Majid has been accused of directing the killing of a gang rival in Sweden in 2023 and was later arrested by Iranian police near the Turkish border.
As part of their feud, one of Abdo’s gang members allegedly killed a member of Majid’s organisation last March in revenge for an attack carried out in a cafe in Istanbul.
The violence recently took a turn when gang members' families and loved ones also became targets. Abdo’s mother was shot dead in Uppsala in 2023, a killing Majid is suspected of ordering in retaliation for one of his own gang being attacked. Majid’s mother-in-law survived an attempt to kill her.
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
All or Nothing
Amazon Prime
Four stars
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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Monster
Directed by: Anthony Mandler
Starring: Kelvin Harrison Jr., John David Washington
3/5
%E2%80%98FSO%20Safer%E2%80%99%20-%20a%20ticking%20bomb
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Everton 0
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Man of the Match: Djibril Sidibe (Everton)
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FA Cup fifth round draw
Sheffield Wednesday v Manchester City
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Portsmouth v Arsenal
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
The specs: 2017 Dodge Ram 1500 Laramie Longhorn
Price, base / as tested: Dhxxx
Engine: 5.7L V8
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 395hp @ 5,600rpm
Torque: 556Nm @ 3,950rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.7L / 100km
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
ARM%20IPO%20DETAILS
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Scoreline
Syria 1-1 Australia
Syria Al Somah 85'
Australia Kruse 40'
Company%20profile
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AUSTRALIA SQUAD
Tim Paine (captain), Sean Abbott, Pat Cummins, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Moises Henriques, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Will Pucovski, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade, David Warner
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SERIE A FIXTURES
Saturday (All UAE kick-off times)
Lecce v SPAL (6pm)
Bologna v Genoa (9pm)
Atlanta v Roma (11.45pm)
Sunday
Udinese v Hellas Verona (3.30pm)
Juventus v Brescia (6pm)
Sampdoria v Fiorentina (6pm)
Sassuolo v Parma (6pm)
Cagliari v Napoli (9pm)
Lazio v Inter Milan (11.45pm)
Monday
AC Milan v Torino (11.45pm)
About Okadoc
Date started: Okadoc, 2018
Founder/CEO: Fodhil Benturquia
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Healthcare
Size: (employees/revenue) 40 staff; undisclosed revenues recording “double-digit” monthly growth
Funding stage: Series B fundraising round to conclude in February
Investors: Undisclosed
Scorecard
Scotland 220
K Coetzer 95, J Siddique 3-49, R Mustafa 3-35
UAE 224-3 in 43,5 overs
C Suri 67, B Hameed 63 not out
Suggested picnic spots
Abu Dhabi
Umm Al Emarat Park
Yas Gateway Park
Delma Park
Al Bateen beach
Saadiyaat beach
The Corniche
Zayed Sports City
Dubai
Kite Beach
Zabeel Park
Al Nahda Pond Park
Mushrif Park
Safa Park
Al Mamzar Beach Park
Al Qudrah Lakes
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Transmission: ten-speed
Power: 420bhp
Torque: 624Nm
Price: Dh325,125
On sale: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Countries recognising Palestine
France, UK, Canada, Australia, Portugal, Belgium, Malta, Luxembourg, San Marino and Andorra
