Missing man in Dubai raises questions over UK-Iran links

The skyline of Dubai

The Dubai skyline. Abbas Yazasanpanah Yazdi was last seen leaving his office in Bur Dubai on the afternoon of 25 June. Photograph: Ahmed Jadallah/Reuters

The mystery disappearance of a UK citizen in Dubai has raised embarrassing questions about British legal co-operation with Iranian prosecutors in an oil contracts case involving senior figures in Tehran.

Abbas Yazasanpanah Yazdi, 44, a father-of-two and a naturalised British national, was last seen on the afternoon of Tuesday 25 June leaving his office in Bur Dubai, the commercial heart of the thriving Gulf state.

He had just finished giving evidence by video-link to a long running international arbitration tribunal in The Hague involving the United Arab Emirates-based Crescent Petroleum and the National Iranian Oil Company. There is no suggestion that Yazdi's involvement in the arbitration is connected with his disappearance.

Yazdi had been due to return to complete his testimony the following day. He never reappeared. His wife, Atena, fears he has been kidnapped by Iranian intelligence officers and taken to Iran.

Yazdi has enjoyed privileged access to certain Iranian politicians. A close childhood friend was Mehdi Hashemi Rafsanjani, son of former president Ayatollah Rafsanjani, who lived in Britain for three years after 2009.

Atena Yazdi told the 7Days website in the UAE: "The only thing [the Dubai police] told me is that he seems to be alive. If he is still in the UAE I'm sure the police can find him. If he's in Iran, it's completely different. I hope and pray for his safety."

She also told 7Days that her husband had been detained and tortured by Iranian intelligence in 1993. After his imprisonment Yazdi is believed to have fled Iran to the UK, where he ran several businesses, before moving to Dubai.

Ten years later, in 2003, Yazdi's home in London was searched by the Serious Fraud Office in connection with allegations relating to a Norwegian investigation into dealings between the Norwegian oil company Statoil and Iranian companies. Legal papers seen by the Guardian show that the SFO copied the contents of Yazdi's computers. He was never charged with any wrongdoing.

In February this year Iran's State General Inspection Organisation (SGIO) wrote to the SFO asking to see material relating to Yazdi. The request was granted, even though the UK does not have diplomatic relations with Iran, having suspended the formal ties in November 2011.

The document shows that the Iranian officials were told: "We located an Excel file of addresses in Mr Yazdi's computer. A copy of the spreadsheet is attached marked 'Address Book'."

Names and contact details of three British lawyers have also been passed across to the SGIO in Tehran.

Asked why such details had been given to Tehran, a spokesperson for the SFO said: "We can neither confirm nor deny SFO interest in this matter. Requests for international assistance are usually dealt with by the Home Office, UK Central Authority, which is overseen by the secretary of state."

A Home Office spokesperson said: "As a matter of long-standing policy and practice, we neither confirm nor deny the existence of mutual legal assistance requests."

Among details on Yazdi's online contacts book handed over by the SFO to Tehran are the names and addresses of his friends in Iran. Decisions to co-operate with the Iranians are, it is understood, normally taken at ministerial level – as the SFO statement implies.

In a statement to parliament earlier this year the SFO's International Assistance Unit confirmed that it had co-operated with Iranian officials on criminal investigations.

The Law Society said it would be concerned if the private details of British lawyers were being passed to Tehran. A spokesperson said: "The Law Society would have serious concerns if UK agencies were playing fast and loose with personal information of members of the profession. Solicitors, discharging their duty as trusted advisers to their clients, have the right to expect privacy."

A London lawyer who had previously been in contact with Yazdi also told the Guardian he had not heard from him in recent weeks and was worried about his safety.

Ali Reza Nourizadeh, director of the centre for Arab and Iranian studies in London and a prominent Iranian opposition figure, said he knew Yazdi and his family. Nourizadeh said he has received information that he was kidnapped and taken to Iran where he was first transferred to Tehran's notorious Evin prison before being taken to a detention centre belonging to the elite Revolutionary Guards.

However, not all those following the case believe he has been abducted to Iran. At least one source suggested he may be hiding in Switzerland.

Following the victory of moderate cleric Hassan Rouhani as Iran's newly-elected president, Nourizadeh said Yazdi was worried Iranian hardliners would act to take revenge on Rafsanjani's family. Rouhani is believed to be a protégé of Ayatollah Rafsanjani, and Nourizadeh said Yazdi was kidnapped by hardline forces as a bargaining chip.

A Foreign Office spokesperson said: "We are aware of reports of a missing person, Mr Abbas Yazasanpanah Yazdi, in Dubai on 25 June. We are providing consular assistance to the family at this difficult time."