Shaher Abdulhak

In 1963 Abdulhak founded the company "Shaher Trading", an enterprise involved in petroleum, soft drinks, tourism and property.[3][4] Abdulhak was known as the "King of Sugar" in Yemen, where he held a great deal of political influence[5] In spite of his prominent position in Yemeni society, Abdulhak was media-shy; he never granted interviews and no photo of him was ever printed in the local press.[5] In December 2009, his picture was shown for the first time in public media when Norwegian newspaper VG printed a private photograph of him.[6]

Shaher Abdulhaq was the father of Farouk Abdulhak, the alleged perpetrator of the rape and murder of the 23-year-old Norwegian female business student Martine Vik Magnussen. (See Murder of Martine Vik Magnussen.)

In December 2010, VG reported that a group of elected representatives in the Norwegian Parliament has written to Shaher Abdulhak's business connections,[7] including Coca-Cola, Mercedes Benz-manufacturer Daimler AG, Whirlpool, Philips, Xerox and Clorox, requesting they review their commercial relationships. On 16 December 2010, VG confirmed that Daimler AG had served notice [8] to terminate its distribution contract with United Engineering & Automobile Co. Ltd. On 15 February 2011 a letter to the elected representatives from Abdulhak was published by Norwegian media, allegedly threatening the representatives with legal action.[9][10][11]