Queen Photoshop of
How Heera Group’s managing director Nowhera Shaikh faked awards to gain trust
Heera Group’s managing director Nowhera Shaikh used Photoshop as a company policy to fake recognition so that she could gain the trust of investors.
Nowhera, who uses the title ‘Dr’ but is neither medically qualified nor has a doctorate, has been in jail since her arrest in India on October 16. The 45-year-old has been charged with cheating, criminal breach of trust and criminal intimidation for peddling Ponzi schemes as halal investments. Now it’s her photo-manipulation skills that are under the scanner.
Implicit faith
Thousands worldwide, including in the UAE, put their faith in Heera Group after it announced winning a string of awards. Among them were ‘Top Business Woman Award’ from Shaikha Hend Faisal Al Qassimi, billed as the ‘Princess of Dubai’ and the ‘Best Newcomer Brand’ for Heera Foodex at Gulfood 2018.
A comment from Heera Group was not available despite several attempts.
On its Facebook page and YouTube channel, Heera Group also claims to have organised the food and beverages trade show at the Dubai World Trade Centre in February.
As it turns out, the claims are false. Shaikha Hend, who runs the local fashion label, House of Hend, denied giving any award to Nowhera. “I did indeed meet her once because she was covered in a book of successful Indian
entrepreneurs... but this picture is photoshopped,” she said in response to a query on Twitter.
Contrary to what it claims, Heera Group never organised Gulfood 2018. It was just one of the 5,000 exhibitors at the show which has been an annual feature in Dubai for over 20 years. There is nothing to substantiate its ‘best newcomer award’ claim either.
Another promotional picture released by Heera Group shows Nowhera sharing the stage with Indian external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj at a book release function in Dubai. The book, which contains profiles of entrepreneurs and professionals from India, does include a chapter on Nowhera but she’s nowhere in the official pictures. So what did she do to make up for her absence? She simply photoshopped herself. “Who would have thought she’d use a photo-editing software to show herself alongside an Indian minister?” said a Dubai resident who lost Dh200,000 in her Ponzi scheme.
Having mastered the art of deceit and falsehood, Nowhera used the same tactics when she launched the All India Mahila Empowerment Party (MEP) and contested the 2018 Karnataka assembly elections in India.
MEP fielded candidates in 175 of the 224 constituencies. Defeat was a foregone conclusion. Yet it tried to influence voters by commissioning a survey that said MEP would emerge as the second-largest party. The dodgy agency hired by Nowhera said it used a satellite to conduct the poll survey. For good measure, it even gave details and coordinates. How could a satellite predict election results, Nowhera never answered.
Nowhera Shaikh, whose Heera Group was the title sponsor of the T10 Cricket League last year, was arrested in India for cheating investors. Lured by annual returns of up to 36 per cent, thousands including many in the UAE put their life savings into her company only to lose it all.