A Norwegian tech guru who inadvertently helped Israel obtain pagers used to bomb Hezbollah militants disappeared on the day of the blasts and has not been heard from since, MailOnline can reveal.
Indian businessman Rinson Jose, 39, was named as the owner of a Bulgarian shell company that allegedly paid British-educated intermediary Cristiana Arcidiacono-Barsony £1.3m as part of a complex deal orchestrated by the Mossad to obtain the pagers.
Jose, who moved to Oslo in 2015 after a two-year stint working for a London immigration consultancy firm, is believed to have left on a pre-planned business trip on Tuesday.
But bosses at his main employer, Norwegian media conglomerate NHST, have been unable to reach him since, apparently contacting Norway’s domestic intelligence service late on Wednesday night after learning late about his links to the Lebanon attacks.
The Oslo Police District announced this afternoon that they have “launched preliminary investigations into the information that has come to light.”
Indian businessman Rinson Jose, 39, was named as the owner of a Bulgarian shell company that allegedly paid British-educated intermediary Cristiana Arcidiacono-Barsony £1.3m as part of a complex deal orchestrated by the Mossad to obtain the pagers.
Pager explosions on Tuesday afternoon caused chaos across Lebanon
Wednesday’s second wave of explosions left 20 more dead
Spokesman Unni Grøndal added: “We are aware of the information, but have no comment on it at this time.”
Today the shutters of his apartment in Mortensrud, an upmarket residential neighbourhood on the outskirts of Oslo, were down. The lawn was overgrown and neighbours said they had not seen him for several months.
A friend of his said she was shocked to discover his name was connected to the story and described him as a man with a “big heart”.
“My whole network liked him,” he told Norwegian news site VG. “He saved his hair for many years so he could donate it to cancer patients. That’s the kind of person I saw in him.”
There is no suggestion that Norwegian citizen Mr Jose was in any way aware of the clandestine plot to inject high explosives into the pagers, or that the ultimate purchaser…
A friend of his said she was surprised to find his name connected to the story and described him as a man with a “big heart”.
Today the shutters were down in his apartment in Mortensrud, an upmarket suburb outside Oslo.
There is no suggestion that Norwegian national Mr Jose was aware of the clandestine plot to plant high-powered explosives in the pagers, or that the ultimate buyer, Cristiana Bársony-Arcidiacono, who has denied involvement in the plot, was working with Israel’s security services.
The shell company, Norta Global LTD, was registered in an apartment building in Budapest where almost 200 other companies are located.
On their now-deleted website, you can read: “Looking for an agile company to help you succeed or find the right technology solution for you? Look no further.”
His profile on Founders Nation, a site that connects entrepreneurs with Israeli startups, describes him as an “entrepreneurial-minded business developer looking for a co-founder or like-minded individuals to start a company.”
He added: “Let’s have a quick chat or call and see how we can collaborate or exchange ideas and knowledge. Experience working in world-class startups and multinationals.”
Photographs showed crowds of people walking through the streets of Beirut mourning the death of the boy, along with three other men who died.
Their deaths, along with ten others killed on Tuesday, came just a day before Israel launched a second wireless attack, this time targeting Hezbollah walkie-talkies.
Images purporting to show exploding portable radios have been circulating on the Internet.
Flames rise to a building in Lebanon amid explosions
Local media reported a car fire as a result of an exploding device.
One of the site’s partners is the Mamram Association, which was created by former commanders of an elite cyber unit within the Israel Defense Forces to help find the next generation of Israeli tech talent.
For two years, between 2013 and 2015, Mr. José worked at the London-based marketing company Levetron Ltd as a Business Development Manager.
A company spokesman said today he vaguely remembered the name and believed it was now in Norway, but declined to give further details.
In 2016, Mr. José founded NortaLink, a company described as “an innovative consulting, outsourcing, contracting and technology services company.”
Multiple attempts to contact Mr. Jose by phone and email went unanswered.
