A Norwegian technology guru who inadvertently helped Israel obtain the pagers used to bomb Hezbollah militants disappeared on the day of the explosions and has not been heard from since, MailOnline can reveal.
Indian-born entrepreneur Rinson Jose, 39, was listed as the owner of a Bulgarian shell company that allegedly paid £1.3 million to British-trained middleman Cristiana Arcidiacono-Barsony as part of a complex Mossad-orchestrated deal to obtain the pagers.
Jose, who moved to Oslo in 2015 after working for two years for an immigration consultancy in London, is said to have left on Tuesday for a pre-planned business trip.
But bosses at his main employer, Norwegian media group NHST, have been unable to reach him since. They reportedly contacted Norway’s domestic intelligence service late on Wednesday after learning of his links to the Lebanon attacks.
The Oslo police district announced tonight that it has “launched a preliminary investigation into the information that has come to light.”
Indian-born entrepreneur Rinson Jose, 39, was listed as the owner of a Bulgarian shell company that allegedly paid £1.3 million to British-trained middleman Cristiana Arcidiacono-Barsony as part of a complex Mossad-orchestrated deal to obtain the pagers
A friend of his said she was shocked to see his name linked to the story – describing him as a man with a ‘big heart’
The pager explosions on Tuesday afternoon caused chaos across Lebanon
The second wave of explosions on Wednesday left another 20 dead
Spokesperson Unni Grøndal added: “We are aware of the information, but cannot comment on it at this time.”
The blinds were drawn today in his apartment in Mortensrud, an upscale suburb on the outskirts of Oslo. The grass was overgrown and neighbors said they hadn’t seen him in months.
A friend of his said she was shocked to see his name linked to the story, describing him as a man with a “big heart.”
“My whole network liked him,” she told Norwegian news site VG. “He saved his hair for years to donate it to cancer patients. That’s the kind of person I experienced him as.”
There is no evidence that the Norwegian citizen, Mr. Jose, was in any way aware of the secret plan to rig the beepers with explosives, or that he knew that the eventual buyer
Today the curtains were drawn in his apartment in Mortensrud, an upmarket suburb on the outskirts of Oslo
There is no evidence that the Norwegian citizen, Mr Jose, was in any way aware of the secret plan to poison the beepers with explosives, or that the eventual buyer, Cristiana Bársony-Arcidiacono, who denies any involvement in the plan, collaborated with Israeli security services.
The shell company, Norta Global LTD, was registered at the address of an apartment building in Budapest, where nearly 200 other companies are located.
The text on the now-deleted website read: ‘Are you looking for an agile company that can help you succeed or find that technical solution that is just right for you? Look no further.’
In his profile on Founders Nation, a website that connects entrepreneurs with Israeli startups, he describes himself as an “entrepreneurial-minded business developer looking for a co-founder or like-minded people to start a venture.”
It was added: ‘Let’s have a quick chat/call and see how we can collaborate or exchange ideas and knowledge. Experience of working in world-class startups and multinationals.’
Photos showed crowds of people walking through the streets of Beirut mourning the boy, along with three other men who were killed.
Their deaths, along with 10 others killed on Tuesday, came just a day before Israel carried out a second wireless attack, this time targeting Hezbollah radios.
Photos of exploded portable radios are circulating online
Flames engulf a building in Lebanon during explosions
According to local media, a fire broke out in a car as a result of an exploding device
One of the site’s partners is the Mamram Association, which was founded by former commanders of an elite cyber unit within the Israel Defense Forces to find the next generation of Israeli tech talent.
For two years, between 2013 and 2015, Mr. Jose worked at London-based marketing agency Levetron Ltd as a Business Development Manager.
Today, a company spokesman said he vaguely remembered the name and believed he was in Norway by now, but declined to discuss the matter further.
In 2016, Mr. Jose founded NortaLink, a company described as “an innovative consulting, outsourcing, recruitment and technology services company.”
Several attempts to reach Mr. Jose by telephone and email went unanswered.