British multi-millionaire Shoja Shojai has been declared in contempt of court by the Spanish authorities after he failed to show up in the dock for allegedly sexually abusing five women in his ‘harem’ of models.
The 58-year-old British oil tycoon reportedly lived with a harem of international models in an Arabian-style palace in the city of Marbella in the autonomous community of Andalusia in southern Spain.
The case began in 2014 when one of the women filed a report of domestic violence against him. The Iranian-born businessman was reportedly arrested in March 2014 but he later left prison on bail.
During the consequent investigation, officers discovered that five of the women in the ‘harem’ said they had been sexually and physically abused by Shojai, as well as accusing the oil tycoon of altering the identities of some of the children he had fathered with them.
He was due to stand trial in Spain but he was declared in contempt of court on 13th May 2020 as he failed to show up. An arrest warrant was issued against him in 2019 but his whereabouts have remained unknown since then.
The information has only recently been revealed in local media.
Marbella prosecutor Luis Angel Baeza confirmed to local media that the tycoon is accused of sexual abuse, aggression and altering the identity of some of the children he fathered with at least five women.
The case has reportedly been temporarily archived as the Spanish authorities have been unable to find the businessman and arrest him.
Nine of the women who lived with Shojai reportedly claimed he had lured them to Spain under false promises of helping them to start a career in fashion.
Reports claim the women had originally come from across Europe, and Asia including Russia, Germany, Mongolia and Kazakhstan.
According to local media, the women were put in a ten-bed mansion on the property in Marbella and forced to pay the 6,500 GBP-a-month rent on the property.
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Story By: Jonathan Macias, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News
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