An Arab billionaire indicated yesterday that he would disown his son if there were evidence that he had been responsible for the death of the Norwegian socialite Martine Vik Magnussen.

Shaher Abdulhak will decide if his 21-year-old son, Farouk Abdulhak, deserves to face justice in Yemen or if there is sufficient evidence to require him to return to London to face police questioning.

Farouk Abdulhak was seen leaving an exclusive London nightclub with Miss Magnussen, 23, at about 3am on Friday. Her body was found in the basement of his nearby apartment block at 10am on Sunday.

Mr Abdulhak landed in Yemen at 5.30am on Sunday and is believed to be hiding in the country, which does not have an extradition treaty with Britain. Scotland Yard has said that it wanted urgently to question him over Miss Magnussen’s death.

They were both studying international business relations at the private Regent’s Business School in Regents Park and were known to socialise together. Yemeni security sources were unable to trace Mr Abdulhak yesterday but believe him to be somewhere in the country, which is brutally poor and still dominated by tribal law.

Mr Abdulhak’s father is a prominent businessman with political connections, considered to be one of Yemen’s wealthiest citizens. He said that he has had no contact with his son since Miss Magnussen’s body was found beneath a pile of rubble in the basement of the Seaford Court apartment block in Fitzrovia, Central London, where his son rented a £600-a-week flat with two friends.

The family reacted to the intense media scrutiny with a statement issued by an uncle through a family friend, saying that they would disown Mr Abdulhak if he had committed any wrong.

The statement, which was also published in the Yemen Observer, said they “are aware of the press reports and are very concerned about the fate of their son and are awaiting further information to make it clear that they would not associate themselves with any member of their family connected with any wrongdoing”.

The family also reached out to the Magnussen family, saying: “Any loss of life is tragic and the family send their feelings and deep condolences to the Magnussen family and friends, whatever the cause of these unfortunate events.”

The statement, however, fell short of a denial of guilt and some observers say that the message is significant in a culture where justice is considered a family affair, rather than one for the State. “If this crime had been committed in Yemen, the family of the victim would be asked for forgiveness, and if it is granted, given some money. If nobody forgives, the guilty person would be killed,” a friend of the Abdulhak family said.

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