Amsia Motors making billions in deals, but does it exist?

In 2013, the Brazilian government was crowing about its “Crown Jewel” of the so-called Greater Brazil Plan. The “Incentive Program for Technological Innovation and Densification of the Productive Chain of Motor Vehicles” was a plan to offer incentives to automakers around the world to bring their companies to Brazil. The government proudly trotted names of companies looking to invest in Brazil, including the “Chinese-Saudi company” Amsia Motors.

Recently in Minas Gerais, a small team of representatives from Amsia Motors – which previously saw a (Rs) $1 billion deal to build a factory in Sergipe fall through to little fanfare – was in Minas Gerais, working on deals including a whopping (Rs)$2 billion deal to build a factory in Sete Lagoas, that would bring with it 2,500 jobs.  Amsia was even asking people who could help them to send them e-mails. A member of the group said they had been working former Minister of Development Fernando Pimentel for some time to make the trip happen. Members of the group posed with Brazilian school children and were treated as foreign dignitaries. 

For a nation in need, Amsia Motors seems too good to be true. And it probably is. Amsia Motors is a multi-national automobile company that is promising to invest billions of reals in Brazil and create thousands of good paying jobs. Yet there is no proof it exists beyond a few men and a couple web sites.

The seeds of Amsia Motors were planted in 1986 in the United States in the state of Delaware when it was incorporated as Inter Baraka Holdings. In the 30 full years since, there is no reason whatsoever to believe Inter Baraka or Amsia Motors has ever produced a small generator, let alone an actual automobile. There is no proof available.

Amsia Motors (also Sinoamsia, also Amsia-lbh Group) has three verifiable representatives: Mustafa Ahmed (Also Mustapha Ahmad. Also Mustafa Zeauddin Ahmed. Also Zia Amed. Also Mostafa Ahmed), President and apparently a native of India. Faisal Al Saud – the Arab Zone Distributor and “Saudi Arabian Prince,” and Moeth Ahmed, a director who lives in Toronto, Canada.

Some reasons to be skeptical of Amsia Motor’s existence:

1) A wide search of the Internet shows not one vehicle made by Amsia Motors. Every vehicle shown in any story from Amsia Motors is a vehicle built by another company and photoshopped into being an “Amsia Motors” vehicle.

2) It’s only “Factory” is in China. The address given for this factory is a suite number of an office building.

3) The only mentions of Amsia Motors on the Internet are of its efforts to make deals in Brazil, aside from a couple mentions in 2011 when Mustafa Ahmed made a mediocre effort to obtain Irisbus in Italy.

4) Moeth Ahmed, who is in Brazil with the Amsia Motors delegation, is a web designer who registered the Amsiamotors.com web site with GoDaddy  in 2011 just before they attempted the Irisbus deal in Italy. Moeth Ahmed also owns the websites , lauracolgan.com, uberdigitalluxury.com, amsiaglobal.com and pforzheimwatches.com. Moeth Ahmed’s company “Uber Digital Luxury” is credited as the site designer of AmsiaMotors.com.

5) An Amsia Motors YouTube account has no videos that can prove it is a company or that it makes cars or is a company.

6) The consistent conflating of names. For instance, Amsia Motors is one letter from being “Asia Motors.” Prince Faisal Al Saud is a name the same as a more famous one, as is his company Eram Holding Group, not to be confused with the wildly successful corporation Eram Group. Inter Baraka Holding is not the successful Baraka Holding.

7) The main site for “Amsia Motors Global” is a free Google Blogspot web site.

8) According to the Amsia Motors Global Web site, Amsia Motors also made a (Rs) $2 billion deal with Monte Alegre Mayor Rodrigo de Alvim Mendonça.

9) The e-mail Amsia Motors supplied to possible vendors apparently does not work.

“For local partnerships are you indicating the e-mail info @ amsiaglobal, but it is not possible to send e-mail. Which another e-mail to be able to contact the Amsia Motors company?”

Amsia Motors – which apparently makes use of a free e-mail service – was previously questioned by Italian journalist Andrea Malan, who called them an “alleged multinational” and wrote that the company included a photoshopped Fiat 500 as one of its own cars in its photo album.

“The alleged multinational (described as “a giant Sino-American” optimist Alessandro Pagano, member of the PDL) is called Amsia Motors and shows a curious website ( www.amsiamotors.com ) written in halting English or poorly translated by some foreign language,” wrote Malan. Commenters at a story from the Web site Noticias Automotivas seem to come to the conclusion that Amsia Motors is not what it claims to be. Adiberto Souza openly wondered who Mustafa Ahmed was and asked his readers for information about him.

Brazilian writer Gustavo Henrique Ruffo also questioned the existence of Amsia Motors in a 2013 story.

“they all bring the company emblem placed in a very amateur way the images. Which are cars from other companies. Example is the Amsia Living a Ssangyong apartamentos em santos Rexton with emblem of Amsia. Or Amsia Komi, nothing less than a Effa M100. Blogs in South America (amsiamotorsouthamerica.blogspot.com.br) and Africa (amsiamotorsafrica.blogspot.com.br) that have the same content, no nothing,” wrote Ruffo.

Another odd aside from Amsia Motors is an apparent advertisement placed on the web site Abhilasha HR Solution. The add requests females to be assistants and asks for photos of candidates “in party ware.”

These roles are for Female Personal Assistants to be based in CHINA   and ITALY, but will travel mostly with Chairman to Arab zone, Europe and South America.

About the role: Looking for a mid age , elegant, well groomed ,personality, sense of high office protocol.

Charming, with a Pleasant personality, clever, empathetic person to take responsibility for keeping the team and office working at peak performance. They will be involved in every aspect of helping build the China and Italy office from providing assistance to CEO while managing office environment, taking responsibility for outward social media channels, to helping support the global marketing initiatives.

If interested please send minimum 2 full-size pictures, one in business suit and one in party ware along with your CV.

Excellent Salary Package with other benefit package for the right candidate.

Our Client Amsia  Motors is the new generation signature Leader in the Automobile and Engineering industry, with a unique vision and direction of a Greener Future. Inspired most importantly by environment friendly, highly economical, reliable performance and quality.  Company website www.amsiamotors.com

There are other oddities, including a comment from Mustafa Ahmed to a story from the Latin Herald Tribune, where Ahmed seemingly forgets his comment is connected to his Facebook account. Ahmed signs the comment with the sockpuppet name “Daniel Wolfensberger.” 

News is not correct .Amsia Motors is fully owned by parent holding company registered in USA. Mr.Mostafa Ahmed is the Chairman &CEO with full share owner .Prince Faisal Al Saud is the Distributor of Amsia Motors for GCC counties.He came as a member of Chairman’s entourage not a financier or investor. Daniel Wolfensberger

Moeth Ahmed has yet to respond to several requests to speak with him about this story, though I did receive an e-mail from a “Paul K. Leira, Client Concierge.” After that poorly written e-mail, I heard nothing back. There is a Paul Leira in Toronto who is, like Moeth Ahmed, a web designer and fan of luxurious things.

Dear Mr.Bill Wolfrum,

Thank you for your kind comments,
at interest at Amsia Motors.

It is much appreciated.
Please note, Mr.Ahmed the Global Sales & Marketing Director who signed the document is currently in Sete Lagoas.

We can put you in touch with him right away for a phone or skype interview.

Kindly snd us your local number and contact details.

We look forward to a great story and editorial from you.

Good day!


Sincerely
Paul K. Leira

Client Concierge
Toronto, Canada

Conclusion

 

Representatives from Amsia Motors have come to Brazil promising billions of reals and thousands of jobs. They have taken advantage of a nation desperate for commerce. They have taken advantage of media outlets with no curiosity whatsoever. There is absolutely no proof or reason to believe that Amsia Motors has the ability to invest (Rs)$4 billion and run successful automobile factories. There is no proof that Amsia Motors actually exists. But there is plenty of proof that the Brazilian government and media has failed to do its job vetting Amsia Motors.

–WKW

Portuguese version here