Disgraced Arrow Finance chief killed in plane crash

MUHAMMED Naviede, who was jailed following a high profile fraud trial in the 1990s, died in a plane crash last week.

Mr Naviede built up the Altrincham trade finance firm Arrow Finance Group in the 1980s but was arrested when the business collapsed owing around £100m in 1991.

After a six month trial in 1995 he was convicted of seven charges of fraudulent trading, obtaining property and services by deception and making false statements to obtain bank facilities. A nine-year sentence was later cut to six on appeal.

The 60-year-old was piloting a Piper Tomahawk light aircraft on August 27 when it came down just off the A413, north of the village of Padbury in Buckinghamshire. An inquest has been opened and the crash is being investigated by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch.

Mr Naviede’s daughter Raquelle Grace was a 2007 X Factor contender and his siblings have carved out prominent business careers. His sister is Nighat Awan who runs the Shere Khan restaurant group and his younger brother is Pervaiz Naviede who has an investment vehicle, the Pervaiz Naviede Family Trust, which owns Salford-based developer LPC Living.

Another brother Tariq Siddiqi was a business associate of former Cabinet minister David Blunkett through a company called DNA Biosciences, which appointed Mr Blunkett as a director just before the 2005 General Election. Mr Blunkett was later probed by parliamentary watchdogs for failing to disclose the directorship.

In a statement Mr Naviede’s family said: “We are deeply saddened by the loss of our father, grandfather and brother following this tragic event.”