Abu Daud Muhammad Moosa (; born 15 October 1945), better known as Moosa Bin Shamsher (), is a Bangladeshi businessman, philanthropist, economist, and self proclaimed arms dealer serving as the

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of DATCO Group, a laborer export company. He is the richest man in

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

Early life and education

Abu Daud Muhammad Moosa was born on 15 October 1945 to a

middle class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. C ...

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

family of

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

Mullah Mullah () is an honorific title for Islam, Muslim clergy and mosque Imam, leaders. The term is widely used in Iran and Afghanistan and is also used for a person who has higher education in Islamic theology and Sharia, sharia law. The title h ...

s in the village of Qazikanda in

Faridpur District Faridpur District () is a district in south-central Bangladesh. It is a part of Dhaka Division. It is bounded by the Padma River to the northeast. The district was named for its headquarters, the city of Faridpur, Bangladesh, Faridpur, which its ...

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal until 1937, later the Bengal Province, was the largest of all three presidencies of British India during Company rule in India, Company rule and later a Provinces o ...

. He was the third son in a family of four sons and two daughters. His father, Shamsher Ali Mollah, graduated from the

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta, informally known as Calcutta University (), is a Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Kolkata, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal, India. It has 151 affiliated undergraduate c ...

and served as an education officer and civil servant for the

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

. When Moosa was a school student, he participated in a school debate competition and received the Best Orator award from President

Ayub Khan Mohammad Ayub Khan (14 May 1907 – 19 April 1974) was a Pakistani military dictator who served as the second president of Pakistan from 1958 until his resignation on 1969. He was the first native commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Army, se ...

. In 1988, Moosa was awarded a PhD in economics. There are conflicting reports of which institution awarded his PhD. The schools named are

Pacific Western University The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

in Hawaii,

California Miramar University California Miramar University (CalMU) is a private for-profit university in San Diego, California. The university offers degree programs through distance education and a combination of online and classroom (hybrid) delivery. It is accredited b ...

(formerly Pacific Western University, California), and

California State University The California State University (Cal State or CSU) is a Public university, public university system in California, and the List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, largest public university system in the United States ...

Business

Moosa founded DATCO Group, a manpower recruitment firm. Moosa claims to be an international arms dealer who made billions of dollars trading arms in the 1970s and 1980s. He claims that he accumulated $10 billion from trading in tanks, fighter jets, ICBMs, and power brokerages. He also claimed that he has around $7 billion in

Swiss bank Banking in Switzerland dates to the early 18th century through Switzerland's merchant trade and over the centuries has grown into a complex and regulated international industry. Banking is seen as very emblematic of Switzerland and the countr ...

accounts that have been frozen due to irregular transactions. Moosa stated in 2019 that he wanted to bring over €20 billion to Bangladesh, including money that he earned doing business with

Adnan Khashoggi Adnan Khashoggi (; 25 July 1935 – 6 June 2017) was a Saudi businessman and arms dealer known for his business dealings, extensive geopolitical influence, and opulent lifestyle, which earned him the moniker "''The Jay Gatsby, Great Gatsby ...

. Moosa claims to have made a large amount of his fortune from the

Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War, also known as the First Gulf War, was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. Active hostilities began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for nearly eight years, unti ...

. However, a government probe against him found that all his claims were baseless as Moosa couldn't provide any proof about his business dealings when questioned by the Bangladeshi ACC. An investigation also found that he had no Swiss bank account and barely had any assets in his name.

Partnership with Adnan Khashoggi

In an article written by Moosa, he claims that he was a close friend and business partner of the Saudi international arms-dealer

. According to him they regularly worked together in brokering deals and traded arms mainly in Africa. Moosa stated in 2019 that when Adnan Khashoggi died in 2017, he left Moosa billions of dollars in his will. A Zambian news outlet reported in 2018 that before the demise of Adnan Khashoggi, Khashoggi spoke to Moosa on the phone and let Moosa in on many game-changing military secrets, known only to a few elite individuals in the world. The report also stated that Moosa claimed Khashoggi instructed him to do everything possible to bring peace between

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

and the United States.

Acquisition of Rupali Bank

In August 2006, Moosa backed a deal made by his friend and business partner Saudi prince Bandar bin Muhammad Al-Saud to acquire a majority 67% stake in the Bangladeshi state owned bank

Rupali Bank Rupali Bank () is a Bangladeshi state owned commercial bank that operates across Bangladesh. Its headquarters is in 34 Dilkusha, Dhaka. Md. Nazrul Huda is the chairman of the bank. Kazi Md. Wahidul Islam is the managing director of the bank. H ...

for US$330 million. Prince Bandar Al-Saud also pledged to invest US$6 billion to the emerging markets of the Bangladeshi economy.

Media

DATCO group

Formed in 1975, Shamsher's business DATCO is now primarily engaged in the export of labour in the form of migrant rural farmers from Bangladesh to the booming construction industries in the Middle East.

Offering donation

During the UK 1997 general election it was reported that Moosa offered the Labour Party and

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...

£5 million campaign donation. Although the party declined the donation the offer itself received a lot of media attention.

Brokering peace between Trump and Kim Jong-un

Moosa claims that the historic

2018 North Korea–United States Singapore Summit The 2018 North Korea–United States Singapore Summit, commonly known as the Singapore Summit, was a Summit (meeting), summit meeting between Chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea, North Korean Chairman Kim Jong Un and President of the Uni ...

, where

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

had a meeting with

Kim Jong-un Kim Jong Un (born 8 January 1983 or 1984) is a North Korean politician and dictator who has served as supreme leader of North Korea since 2011 and general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is the third son of Kim ...

, was brokered by him. A Zambian news outlet reported that Moosa enlisted the help of Paul Manafort Jr. and sent a hand-written letter to

advising him to back-off from his standoff with

. He claims that he wrote similar letters to Speaker of the House

Paul Ryan Paul Davis Ryan (born January 29, 1970) is an American politician who served as the List of Speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 54th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019. A member of the ...

, Prime Minister of

Shinzo Abe Shinzo Abe (21 September 1954 – 8 July 2022) was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), LDP) from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 2020. ...

of Japan, and Crown Prince

Mohammad bin Salman Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud (; born 31 August 1985), also known as MBS or MbS, is the '' de facto'' ruler of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, formally serving as Crown Prince and Prime Minister. He is the heir apparent to the Saudi throne, ...

of Saudi Arabia. In the news report, Moosa stated that he helped bring peace between the United States and

because prior to

's death, Moosa spoke to him on the phone and he told Moosa about North Korea's nuclear missiles and extreme military power. Moosa states that a confrontation with North Korea would result in a

Third World War World War III, also known as the Third World War, is a hypothetical future global conflict subsequent to World War I (1914–1918) and World War II (1939–1945). It is widely predicted that such a war would involve all of the great powers, l ...

, which had to be prevented at any cost.

Personal life

Moosa married his elder brother's sister-in-law Kaniz Fatema Chowdhury in 1974. His father-in-law was Abu Naser Chowdhury, the last Zamindar of Dulai. The couple have 2 sons and 1 daughter. His son Zubi Moosa is a lawyer. His son Bobby Hajjaj is a politician. His daughter is married to Sheikh Fazle Fahim of the Sheikh family of Tungipara. Moosa is fluent in

, English, and

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

Controversy

Travel restrictions

According to an Indian online news outlet, United News of India, Moosa was warned not to travel to Middle Eastern countries because of the threat posed to him by Pakistan's ISI and Israel's

Mossad The Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations (), popularly known as Mossad ( , ), is the national intelligence agency of the Israel, State of Israel. It is one of the main entities in the Israeli Intelligence Community, along with M ...

. It was stated in the article that Moosa's relationship with

Brunei Brunei, officially Brunei Darussalam, is a country in Southeast Asia, situated on the northern coast of the island of Borneo. Apart from its coastline on the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak, with ...

was so good that it helped strain Brunei–Pakistan relations, much to the dismay of the ISI. Moosa believes that the

2004 Dhaka grenade attack The 2004 Dhaka grenade attack took place at an anti-terrorism rally organised by Awami League in Bangabandhu Avenue (now Shaheed Abrar Fahad Avenue) on 21 August 2004. The attack left 24 dead and more than 500 injured. The attack was carried ou ...

Sheikh Hasina Sheikh Hasina (''née'' Wazed; born 28 September 1947) is a Bangladeshi politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Bangladesh from June 1996 to July 2001 and again from January 2009 to August 2024. Premiership of Sheikh Hasina, Her ...

was perpetrated by

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

, which is why he took it on himself to get revenge on

. Moosa also claims that the

were after him because Israel wanted a share in the money that Moosa received after the death of

, because Israel claims to have helped the duo in their arms dealings. Due to these alleged threats, Moosa filed many cases in different Bangladeshi police stations. Moosa claims that the Pakistani intelligence outfit repeatedly tried to attack members of Sheikh Mujib's family, but he always prevented any danger as he was always steps ahead of them. According to Moosa himself, he made an oath to Sheikh Mujib to always protect

Alleged collaboration with the Pakistan Army

In his native Faridpur, Moosa is referred to as "Nula Razakar" (

razakar Razakar (رضا کار) is etymologically an Arabic word which literally means volunteer. The word is also common in Urdu language as a loanword. On the other hand, in Bangladesh, razakar is a pejorative word meaning a traitor or Judas. In Paki ...

refers to Bengalis who collaborated with the

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ), commonly known as the Pak Army (), is the Land warfare, land service branch and the largest component of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The president of Pakistan is the Commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the army. The ...

) for his alleged collaboration with the

in war crimes during the

Bangladesh Liberation War The Bangladesh Liberation War (, ), also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, was an War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali nationalism, Bengali nationalist and self-determination movement in East Pakistan, which res ...

Tax evasion

In March 2017,

Bangladesh Customs Bangladesh Customs is the principal customs agency of Bangladesh. The agency operating under the National Board of Revenue (NBR) is the lead tax collection agency in Bangladesh. NBR is part of the Internal Resources Division (IRD) under the countr ...

seized a

Range Rover The Land Rover Range Rover, generally shortened to Range Rover, is a Sport utility vehicle, 4x4 Luxury car, luxury SUV produced by Land Rover, a marque and sub-brand of Jaguar Land Rover, owned by Tata Motors. The Range Rover line was launched ...

which was smuggled in by Moosa. Moosa evaded a tax of Tk. 2.17 crore by registering the car under falsified import documents. The car was registered in

Bhola Bhola may refer to: *Bhola District, Barisal Division, Bangladesh **Bhola Sadar Upazila, sub-division of the district **Bhola Island, largest island of Bangladesh covering the district **Bhola (town), on the island *''Bholaa'', 2023 Indian action f ...

under one of Moosa's associates' names after it reportedly paid a 130% import tax. However, after law enforcers searched the

Chittagong Custom House Chittagong Custom House () is a Bangladesh government regulatory agency under the Ministry of Finance responsible for collecting tariffs and costume duty in Chittagong City and Chittagong Port. M. Fakhrul Alam is the head of the Chittagong Custom ...

for the car's bill of entry, they found out that the papers were falsified and no tax was paid. After seizing the car they realized that it was repainted from white to black, to confuse law enforcers. Moosa was charged with money laundering and evasion of duty by the

False statements regarding wealth

In June 2020, the ACC claimed that Moosa had misled the agency by lying about all his wealth and business dealings. They claimed that he presented himself as a prince, well-connected arms dealer, power broker, and businessman, whereas in reality, he couldn't provide the agency correct information regarding his wealth when he was being investigated. Moosa claims to have roughly US$12 Billion and US$10 million worth (in 2020 dollars) of diamonds frozen in his Swiss bank accounts. He also claimed that he owned around 1,200 bighas (roughly 400 acres) of land in

Savar Savar () is a city in central Bangladesh, located in the Dhaka District in the division of Dhaka. It is the closest separate city to the centre of Dhaka. It is also a part of the Greater Dhaka conurbation which forms the Dhaka megacity. About ...

and

Gazipur Gazipur () is a city in central Bangladesh. Located in Gazipur District in Dhaka Division, it is a major industrial city north of Dhaka. It is a hub for the textile industry in Bangladesh, with 75% of all garment industries situated there. ...

. However, after the ACC investigated him, they found that his claims of having Swiss bank accounts and owning huge swaths of land were all false. When questioned about his arms-dealing and Swiss bank accounts, he failed to submit any papers records to prove his claims. The government probe found that he had only 5 cars and a house in the affluent Gulshan area of

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

(which has been handed over to a development company), all of which were owned by his wife. The only asset owned by him was an ancestral piece of land in his native Faridpur, which his siblings also had shared. The government probe also found out that his tall claims of political connections, private intelligence, and protecting

were all baseless self-made claims.

Fraudulent practices

In 2005, the CID filed a show-cause notice against Moosa on charges of defrauding 3 workers of Tk. 18.8 million. The CID claimed that Moosa promised 300 people overseas jobs but ended up deceiving them. The CID also accused him of abducting and vanishing one of his employees named Nazrul Islam. Other allegations against him included forgery; providing fake passports and visas; flattery, kidnapping, and violation of women. Cases and allegations have been filed against him since 1990. The journalists who leaked information regarding Moosa and his malpractices were harassed by miscreants hired by Moosa, and one of the journalists lost a limb.