Al-Qalam 
Hoomer says despite being set free by an SA court on allegations he was leading an ISIS cell, the FBI won’t leave him alone. He has challenged them to provide evidence, writes Nabeelah Shaikh.
Durban businessman Farhad Hoomer says baseless accusations made against him that he was a leader of an ISIS cell and that had collected “billions” for the Islamic State has wreaked havoc in his and his family’s life – ‘but they still keep following him around.
They were “playing games” with his life, he told Al Qalam.
He’s been accused of terrorism and sanctioned by the United States, but Hoomer had consistently proclaimed his innocence. He said if international authorities still had issues with him, they must meet with him to clear things out – instead, he added, they follow him around.
Hoomer has been accused of leading an Islamic State (ISIS) cell in South Africa.
“If they have evidence against me, come and meet with me, let’s talk. Or better still, arrest me. I do not know what the Federal Bureau of Investigation is up to, but they have been following me around for several months. I was stopped by FBI agents in Morocco and during a business trip in Russia. They are always following me around and they have been to Morocco where they interrogated my family,” said Hoomer.
Hoomer, who grew up in Isipingo Hills and later moved into Overport in Durban, is a father of nine children.
“I am a family man, not a terrorist. I have three wives and I ran five very successful businesses with a turnover of about R20 million a month. I contributed positively to the local economy and I employed more than 100 people in my companies which spanned from diamond and gold trade, to a retail shoe company and the property market,” said Hoomer.
In October 2018, Hoomer and 11 others were arrested on terrorism related charges linked to the planting of a number of incendiary devices at various locations in and around Durban, including Woolworths stores. They also faced charges linked to a fatal attack at the Imam Hussain mosque in Verulam which claimed the life of Abbas Essop in May 2018.
After almost two years of delays with the case, and the state not being ready to proceed with trial, the matter was struck off the court roll in July 2020.
“We became extremely ostracized in the community because of that case. We then proceeded with legal action to sue the state for R156 million as a result of their shoddy investigations, and the impact it had on our lives and reputations,” said Hoomer.
But Hoomer’s troubles didn’t end there. Now, he has international authorities to deal with.
In March this year, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated four alleged ISIS facilitators based in South Africa, which included Hoomer.
Operations
OFAC claimed that between 2017 and 2018, Hoomer helped organise and begin the operations of a Durban, South Africa-based, ISIS cell. It claimed Hoomer was the leader of the ISIS cell, and has provided some of his known residential properties and vehicles registered in his name to sponsor the cell’s meetings and operational activities.
“In his role, Hoomer claimed to have recruited and trained cell members and was in contact with members of ISIS-Democratic Republic of the Congo and ISIS supporters throughout South Africa. Hoomer raised funds through kidnap-for-ransom operations and extortion of major businesses which provided more than one million South African rand in revenue for his cell,” OFAC said in a statement.
Hoomer says OFAC’s sanctions resulted in South African banks closing all of his business accounts.
“I am not a criminal and they shut all my accounts down. In the eyes of the law, I am innocent until proven guilty. I have no criminal records, not even one. I’ve got a police clearance this year which shows that I have no criminal records. Why is all this happening yet the South African government is not saying anything about it?” questioned Hoomer.
He said the sanctions imposed on him essentially meant that he had to shut all his successful businesses down and more than 100 people that he employed locally, were left jobless.
“We filed papers in court in 2018, proving our innocence. It’s easy to accuse anyone of anything, but come with the proof. We are innocent until proven guilty. I have fought my innocence in court and if anyone can prove otherwise, then they must bring that evidence and arrest me,” said Hoomer.
Hoomer says the FBI claims to have information against him, and he’s curious to see the evidence that they have because they have never presented that to him.
“In one of their statements where they sanctioned me and four others, they said we funded the Islamic State for R6 billion. Do they know what’s R6 billion, and how many zeros that is? R6 million would make sense. I mean, where do they come up with figures like this? I must be a real professional to be able to send R6 billion across without being spotted, or without making a mistake,” said Hoomer.
Hoomer says he is fighting to clear his name, and would love to take on the FBI, but he doesn’t know where to start.
“How do you take on a big organisation like the FBI? I have been consulting with my legal team about this. We know the FBI is all over the world, we know they are in South Africa. But they have never approached me. And I’m not on the run. I’m not afraid of them. I am traveling all over the world freely, wherever I need to go. I’m not running from anyone or anything. I’m saying to them, come sit down with me and let’s discuss this, because I am tired of all the accusations they’ve been making against me,” says Hoomer.
