Abdul Razzak Yaqoob (7 May 1944 – 21 February 2014) was a Pakistani gold bullion trader who founded ARY Gold in the United Arab Emirates and later ARY Media Group.

Early life

He was born in Surat,

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

Memon Memon may refer to: Ethnic group and language * Memon people, an ethnic group originating in the ancient Sindh (modern day Pakistan) * Memoni language, the language of Memon people historically associated with Kathiawar, Gujarat, India People wit ...

family in 1944 which later migrated to

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

after partition.

Business career

Yakoob moved to the United Arab Emirates in the 1960s and started gold business with an outlet in Dubai. He founded ARY Group in 1972 and launched a private television channel ARY Digital in 2000. He was associated with the ''ARY Gold bribery case'' in which he paid a bribe to then Finance Minister of Pakistan

Nawaz Shareef Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (Urdu, Punjabi: ; born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani businessman and politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms. He is the longest-serving prime minister of Pak ...

to get exclusive rights to import and trade gold in Pakistan. In January 1994, Schlegelmilch established a British Virgin Island based named Capricorn Trading, with Zardari as its owner.

Death

He died on 21 February 2014 in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, United Kingdom.

References

1944 births 2014 deaths Pakistani company founders Pakistani industrialists Pakistani expatriates in the United Arab Emirates Bribery scandals Government of Benazir Bhutto ARY Digital Network people Memon people Pakistani people of Gujarati descent Businesspeople from Dubai Businesspeople from Karachi Pakistani Muslims Pakistani mass media owners {{Pakistan-business-bio-stub