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Saif Durbar

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Saif Durbar
Born1962
NationalityPakistani-Central African
Other namesSaifee Durbar
Occupation(s)Businessman, investor, and property developer

Saif Durbar (born 1962) is a Pakistani-Central African businessman, investor, and property developer.[1][2][3] He served as a key adviser to the former presidents of the Central African Republic Ange Felix Patasse and François Bozizé.[4][5] From 2008 to 2009, he was the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Central African Republic.[6]

Durbar is the founder and chief executive officer of Girc, Bridge Africa Counselage, and founder of philanthropic organisation Kutamani, which provides educational tools for students in Africa.[7][8][1]

Life and career

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Saif Durbar was born in 1962 in Gujarat, India, close to the Pakistan border.[4][5] After the decolonisation of India in 1947, his family remained close to the British, and was also closely connected to Gulf monarchies.[5] Following his studies in England and Pakistan, he joined the family manufacturing, textile, steel, plastics, and packaging businesses.[5] In 1987, he returned to the U.K. to start his own import export business, and eventually expanded in bond trading and banking.[5]

In 1993, Durbar started working in Africa, developing businesses in infrastructure and real estate in Zaire until the fall of Mobutu Sese Seko in 1997.[5] Throughout his business dealings in Africa, he has been close to several of the heads of states on the continent, including Mobutu, Laurent-Désiré Kabila, Omar Bongo, François Bozizé, and Alpha Condé.[5]

After the loss of nearly a billion dollars in 1995, Durbar expanded projects in mining and property development with large capitalisation.[5] [7] He continued to create businesses in the Central African Republic, attracting international investors to the region. Durbar became an economic adviser to President Ange-Félix Patassé from 1999 until the end of 2000, whom he represented at the United Nations as well.[5][9]

In 2005, Dubar along with Paul Bloomfield, announced the $13 billion USD (£7.4 billion) partnership between Bovis Lend Lease and Foster & Partners to develop a new city in Saudi Arabia which included a plan for 750,000 new homes.[7] He also took part in setting up The Saudi Construction Group.[7] Previously, he started a property fund and was involved in several large property deals in Britain and Europe.[10][11][12]

In 2006, Durbar became an advisor to President François Bozizé, and in 2009 was appointed Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs.[13][4][14]

Controversies

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Durbar was the adviser of François Bozize, when the Canadian company Uramin acquired 90 percent of the Bakouma uranium mine.[15]

In 2007, the French state-owned nuclear company Areva purchased Uramin and its mines for 1.8 billion euros. According to Durbar, the acquisition took place without notification of change of ownership to the CAR government who owned 15 percent of Uramin. Durbar advised the government to appoint lawyers to give notice to Areva to justify the transaction.[16] The mines were later proved unusable because of their low uranium concentration and the expensive logistics involved, which Areva's CEO Anne Lauvergeon was aware of at the time of the purchase of Uramin.[16] This brought about allegations of possible corruption.[5][13][16]

In August 2007, one month after the CAR government issued its notice to Areva to justify the Uramin transaction, the French government issued a warrant against Durbar following the appeal of his 1995 fraud conviction.[5][17][18][13]

In October 2008 the US ambassador to Bangui reported France's desire "to limit the influence of Saiffee Durbar, including by using the legal proceedings against him".[5] To protect Durbar, President Bozizé appointed him Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, offering him diplomatic immunity and Central African citizenship.[9] Following pressure from France he left the position.[5] At the end of 2009, after his resignation as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, he went to France to defend himself and to negotiate his extradition.[5] He was placed on probation for six months under house arrest in a Paris apartment.[5] Durbar left France at the end of his probation period in September 2010.[5][19] He still works in Africa and other parts of the world with a focus on mining, infrastructure, real estate and the oil sectors.[20]

In 2014, Vincent Crouzet published a book Radioactive about the Uramin scandal with Saif Durbar as one of the main protagonists and a key witness.[21][22][18]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Davey, Jenny (2005-10-12). "UK firms team up in £7bn Saudi homes deal". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2018-06-27.
  2. ^ "Saif Durbar - Man of the Hour! : LA IMC". la.indymedia.org. Retrieved 2018-06-27.
  3. ^ "Saif Durbar Celebrates 20 Years in African Busines [sic]|PZ Media Inc". Scoop.it. Retrieved 2018-06-27.
  4. ^ a b c "Affaire Areva - L'homme qui en sait trop" (in French). Retrieved 2018-06-27.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "Proche de Mobutu, Bozizé, Condé... Qui est Saifee Durbar, ce businessman discret ? – JeuneAfrique.com". JeuneAfrique.com (in French). 2017-05-08. Retrieved 2018-06-27.
  6. ^ "UNITED KINGDOM : Saif Durbar". Africa Mining Intelligence. 2014-09-30. Retrieved 2018-06-27.
  7. ^ a b c d Davey, Jenny (March 26, 2024). "UK firms team up in £7bn Saudi homes deal" – via www.thetimes.co.uk.
  8. ^ "Bovis Lend Lease and Saifee Dubar: The Saudi Experiment - UK Indymedia". www.indymedia.org.uk. Retrieved 2018-06-27.
  9. ^ a b "Un ministre en cavale – JeuneAfrique.com". JeuneAfrique.com (in French). 2009-02-23. Retrieved 2018-06-27.
  10. ^ Davey, Jenny (2024-04-11). "Property tycoon seeks Middle East cash for new fund". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2024-04-11.
  11. ^ Correspondent, Alexi Mostrous, Special (March 26, 2024). "Prince and oligarch's mansion deal" – via www.thetimes.co.uk. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ Davey, Jenny (March 26, 2024). "Multiplex set to sell half its stake in London scheme" – via www.thetimes.co.uk.
  13. ^ a b c "EXCLUSIF. "La DCRI a enquêté dès 2009 sur le rachat d'Uramin par Areva"". L'Obs (in French). Retrieved 2018-06-27.
  14. ^ "Centrafrique : vrais papiers, faux diplomates – JeuneAfrique.com". JeuneAfrique.com (in French). 2014-04-30. Retrieved 2018-06-27.
  15. ^ "Comment Areva a transformé UraMin en gouffre financier". L'Echo (in French). 2017-03-06. Retrieved 2018-06-27.
  16. ^ a b c "Quand la littérature nous éclaire sur le trafic d'uranium entre la France et l'Afrique – JeuneAfrique.com". JeuneAfrique.com (in French). 2017-10-02. Retrieved 2018-06-27.
  17. ^ Monin, Jacques (2017-01-28). "EXCLUSIF | Affaire UraMin : les preuves de l'escroquerie seraient à Monaco". France Inter (in French). Retrieved 2018-06-27.
  18. ^ a b Vincent., Crouzet (2014). Radioactif. Paris: Belfond. ISBN 9782714456526. OCLC 1033442203.
  19. ^ "Immobilier France: location vente appartements immobilier, agence immobiliere, credit immobilier - Saif Durbar s'explique et accuse: je suis un problème pour la France !". www.immobilierfr.org (in French). Retrieved 2018-06-27.
  20. ^ "Monster housing project planned in Saudi Arabia - Edge Middle East". October 21, 2005.
  21. ^ "Affaire UraMin : comment j'ai été plongé dans ce dossier radioactif". L'Obs (in French). Retrieved 2018-06-27.
  22. ^ "Affaire Areva - Un écrivain entendu par la Brigade financière" (in French). Retrieved 2018-06-27.
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