Man accused of kidnapping models

Shoja Shojai is believed to have boasted to the women he was an oil tycoon who was friends with presidents Barack Obama, above, and Vladimir Putin. Photo / AP

A wealthy Briton has been arrested in Spain on suspicion of holding a group of women against their will and fathering at least seven children with them.

Shoja Shojai, 56, is alleged to have met most of the women, who were prospective models, in London, persuading them to move to his villa near Marbella.

Shojai, who was born in Iran but has a British passport, is believed to have boasted to the women he was an oil tycoon who was friends with presidents Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin.

Police were called to the sprawling Arabic-style home when one of the women made an allegation of domestic violence against him. There they discovered a group of women, mostly in their 20s, nine of whom have alleged that they were lured to Spain on false pretences. They claim that they were subjected to emotional abuse and threats of physical violence to keep them there.

Reports in the Spanish press also suggested that police found drugs, including the date-rape drug Rohypnol, at the property. The women and their children, aged between 9 months and 7 years old, have been taken to refuges, while Shojai has been released on bail.

Shojai is understood to have met the women, who came from a number of countries including Russia, Mongolia and Kazakhstan, while they were studying fashion in London. They allegedly told police he persuaded them to move to Spain after promising them he could further their careers.

It is thought Spanish detectives will now work with Scotland Yard on the investigation.

The property where Shojai and the women were living is a 10-bedroom villa called Casa Saf in the hills above Marbella. The women have allegedly told police they were allowed out only when accompanied. They said he threatened reprisals against their children and families if they disobeyed him.

Shojai has denied all the claims.