- Karim and Mohamedraza Ashikali 'demanded £35,000' for the images
- The pair have pleaded not guilty at Isleworth Crown Court
- They claim 'blackmail' was invented to cut them out of lucrative deal
- Court heard they demanded money so images would not be put on internet
- Also 'threatened to show subject's wife and damage company's reputation'
A father and son blackmailed a company boss with pictures of his married business colleague and a half-naked woman in a Dubai hotel room after a £180million deal turned sour, a court heard.
They demanded £35,000 to prevent the images - which showed the man being straddled by the woman - being put on the internet, damaging the international company’s reputation, and shown to the subject’s wife, Isleworth Crown Court heard.
Karim Ashikali, 57, and Mohamedraza Ashikali, 26, both of Stanmore, claim the blackmail complaint was invented to cut them out of a lucrative deal.
Karim Ashikali, 57, (left) and Mohamedraza Ashikali, 26, (right) are accused of blackmailing a company boss with pictures of his married business colleague and a half-naked woman in a Dubai hotel room
They maintain Mohamedraza - known as Mo - is owed £35,000 in wages by the company.
They have pleaded not guilty to making an unwarranted demand with menaces against the businessman, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, between November 6 and November 20 last year.
The businessman and the Ashikalis had a meeting at the company’s HQ in South Kensington on November 6, after a fruitless investment trip by both defendants to Dubai resulted in Mohamedraza parting company with the consulting firm.
The jury heard the company boss’s colleague - identified as Mr B - was photographed stripped to the waist in a Dubai hotel room, lying underneath a mystery woman wearing only a bra and knickers.
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Share'When they came in Mo held his phone up and showed me the pictures.
'They were of Mr B with a woman sitting astride him, taken from two different angles,' explained the businessman. 'The only reason the Ashikalis came to me was to discredit him.'
Mohamedraza also allegedly threatened to tell Mr B’s wife that her husband was enjoying a fling with an attractive young female member of staff at the company, and had a recording of the employee confirming the affair.
'He said he was going to post the images on the internet.
'He was never owed any outstanding salary. That is money he wanted to keep quiet, to not tell Mr B’s wife.'
The Ashikalis failed to find investors for the company while in Dubai, but Karim claimed the Saudi Arabian consul-general could authorise a deal that would generate huge profits.
It is claimed they demanded £35,000 to prevent the images - which showed the man being straddled by the woman - being put on the internet, damaging the international company's reputation, and shown to the subject's wife, Isleworth Crown (pictured) Court heard
However, the businessman says the deal was flawed and Mr B agreed with him, denying there was any motivation to 'cut out' the Ashikalis.
With the consul-general demanding nine-tenths of the commission, the businessman told the court: 'It would have been illegal. Totally illegal.'
He also told the court his company 'lost complete faith' in the Ashikalis efforts to source investment in the Middle East.
'Some of those investors were not investors at all. They were trying to take our money.'
The businessman said he reported the Ashikalis after cash demands were made following the meeting when the compromising pictures were revealed.
'We discussed it after receiving an email saying Karim wanted money and then we went to the police. We took it as a demand.'
He said Karim emailed him claiming time was running out to stop his son going public, warning: ‘I don’t think I can hold him [Mo] off much longer!!'
The trial continues.
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