A Norwegian tech guru who inadvertently helped Israel source the pagers used to bomb Hezbollah militants disappeared on the day of the blasts and hasn’t been heard from since, MailOnline can reveal.
Indian-born entrepreneur Rinson Jose, 39, was listed as the owner of a Bulgarian shell company that reportedly paid British-educated intermediary Cristiana Arcidiacono-Barsony £1.3million as part of a complex Mossad-orchestrated deal to obtain the pagers.
Jose, who moved to Oslo in 2015 after a two-year stint working for a London immigration advisory firm, is understood to have left on a pre-planned business trip on Tuesday.
But bosses at his primary employer, Norwegian media conglomerate NHST, have been unable to reach him since – and reportedly contacted Norway’s domestic intelligence service late on Wednesday night after becoming aware of his links to the attacks in Lebanon late.
Oslo Police District announced this evening that they have ‘launched preliminary investigations 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 reportedly paid British-educated intermediary Cristiana Arcidiacono-Barsony £1.3million as part of a complex Mossad-orchestrated deal to obtain the pagers
The pager explosions on Tuesday afternoon caused chaos across Lebanon
The second wave of explosions on Wednesday caused an additional 20 deaths
Spokesman Unni Grøndal added: ‘We are aware of the information, but have no comment on the matter as of now.’
Blinds were drawn today at his flat in Mortensrud, an upmarket suburb on the outskirts of Oslo. The grass was overgrown, and neighbours claimed to have not seen him for several months.
A friend of his said she was shocked to find his name connected with the story – and described him as a man with a ‘big heart’.
‘My entire network liked him’, she told Norwegian news site VG. ‘He saved his hair for many years to be able to donate it to cancer patients. That’s the kind of person I experienced him to be.’
There is no suggestion that Norwegian citizen Mr Jose was in any way aware of the clandestine plot to lace the pagers with high explosives, or aware that the ultimate buyer, Cristiana Bársony-Arcidiacono who has denied involvement in the plot, was working with Israel’s security services.
Photos showed a throng of people walking down Beirut’s streets mourning the boy, along with three of the other men who died
Their deaths, along with ten others who perished on Tuesday, came just a day before Israel launched a second wireless attack, this time targeting Hezbollah’s walkie-talkies
Pictures purportedly showing exploded hand-held radios have been circulating online
Flames rise up a building in Lebanon amid the explosions
Local media has reports a fire breaking out in a car as a result of a device exploding
The shell company, Norta Global LTD, was registered to a apartment building in Budapest that is home to nearly 200 other firms.
Text on its now-deleted website read: ‘Are you looking for an agile company to help you succeed or to find that tech solution just right for you? Look no further’.
His profile on Founders Nation, a site connecting entrepreneurs with Israeli start-ups described him as an ‘Entrepreneur minded business developer looking for a co-founder or like-minded people to start a venture.’
It added: ‘Let’s have a quick chat/call and see how can we collaborate or exchange ideas and knowledge. Experience from working in world-class startups and MNCs.’
One of the site’s partners is the Mamram Association, which was set up by former commanders of an elite cyber unit within the Israel Defense Forces to help find the next generation of Israeli tech talent.
For two years between 2013 and 2015, Mr Jose was employed at London-based marketing firm Levetron Ltd as business development manager.
Today a spokesman for the company said he vaguely recalled the name and believed he was now in Norway, but declined to discuss him further.
In 2016 Mr Jose founded NortaLink, a firm described as ‘an innovative consulting, outsourcing, recruiting, and technology services company.’
Multiple attempts to reach Mr Jose via phone and email went unanswered.
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