Hussain Najadi

Hussain Najadi (c. 1938 – 29 July 2013) was an international banker born in Bahrain from parents of Persian origin. He was the Chairman & CEO of AIAK Group, based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Banking career

Najadi was the first Arab merchant banker to link the Middle East countries to the economies of Malaysia, and other ASEAN member countries since 1974. AIAK Group in 1975 founded the Arab Malaysian Banking Group (AMBG), now a US$ 16 billion Banking Group in Asia, with an initial paid in capital of US$ 2 million only. AMBG soon became the largest Bank in Malaysia, now renamed as AMBANK.

Najadi was appointed from 1978 to 1985 by the Governor of the Central Bank of Malaysia as non-executive independent director of the Malaysian Industrial Development Finance Berhad. MIDF is an industrial and merchant bank in Malaysia.

Diversification of activities

Najadi acquired in 1968 from UBS Group, Supramar AG, a hydrofoil specialist based in Lucerne, Switzerland. He expanded its operations world wide and established over 200 hydrofoil lines.

Najadi was the Chairman of Free2move Asia, a joint venture firm with Free2move AB, of Sweden, in the field of RFID and sensor networks. The company was fully acquired by Free2move Holdings AB, Sweden, in August 2010 upon which Najadi resigned.

Education

Najadi was also the founder and former Director of EURO-ASIAN CENTER at INSEAD, Fontainebleau, France (1977–85). Najadi was a visiting lecturer in Business Management in Asia.

Najadi was the first Chairman of developing countries gathering at Davos Economic Symposium (now known as World Economic Forum), in Davos, Switzerland.

The Assassination in Malaysia

On July 29, 2013, banker Hussain Ahmad Najadi was shot dead while his Malaysian wife Chong Mei Kuen, 49, sustained serious injuries when they were shot from close range at a parking lot, after leaving the Guan Yin Temple in Lorong Ceylon - a Chinese temple whose demolition, to make way for development, he was trying to prevent. A gunman who crept from behind, fired randomly at Hussain Ahmad, 75, and his 49-year-old wife at close range, killing the renowned banker on the spot near a car park.

Najadi sustained two shots in the chest while his wife was hit in the left hand and right leg in the 2pm incident.Initial police investigations revealed that the gunman was among three people who waited outside the temple for Hussain Ahmad, who was in a private discussion with a colleague involving a share transaction. The gunman, who wore sports attire, dark glasses and a cap, was believed to have escaped in a taxi together with his accomplices.

Motive behind the killing is still unknown which until this moment police have made arrests. The Police has made a major breakthrough reported by NST on August 7, 2013, arresting Monday August 5, 2013 a 42-year-old man and two women in separate locations in the city to assist in investigations. "The male suspect surrendered himself at the Kuala Lumpur police contingent headquarters, the Police is quoted stating: "He is believed to have been at the crime scene with the taxi driver and the shooter." Link: Cops get break in former banker's murder case - General - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/nation/general/cops-get-break-in-former-banker-s-murder-case-1.334159#ixzz2bSID1YVT. On August 16, 2013 the Taxi driver Chew Siang Chee, arrested by the Malaysian Police for allegedly transporting the assassin who killed banker Ahmad Hussain Najadi, claimed trial to the possession of a firearm and ammunition at the Sessions Court. Chee was one of three suspects detained in the police pursuit of the hitman initially identified as “Sei Ngan Chai” but who has since been named as 44-year-old Kong Swee Kwan.

His son, Pascal Najadi, a Swiss citizen, helped out of Moscow coordinating with the Malaysian Police to track down the killer. "Justice will prevail! I am most confident that Malaysian authorities can nab the hired killer and his client" he said in an interview from Moscow, The Russian Federation, adding, "Here (Moscow)I feel protected and safe. I can only return to Malaysia once we know who and why. Then the painful visit to my dad's grave will be my closure. I am confident the Police and Intelligence Services will be able to resolve this cruel, cowardly assassination that happened in broad daylight." The 46 year old banker added: "The world stands still when such horror terrorises you."

His security advisers told him not to return until the killer is behind bars. As of Sunday August 11, 2013, 2 weeks since the brutal execution style killing, the assassin has still not been caught. Pascal was unable to be at his fathers burial due to security risks. It has been put on YouTube where Mrs Heidi Najadi, the Swiss mother and first wife is standing collected and with bravery by the grave at the burial. A humble yet elegant tribute page for his father has been installed on his family firm's website www.aiakswiss.com by Pascal Najadi, now the CEO and Chairman of the firm that founded Malaysia's 5th largest bank, AmBank, back in the early 1970s'. "When reality conquers illusion you know it is time to wake up, no matter what." Pascal said.