“You will be dragged out of your hotel room, gang raped"
A Virgin Atlantic passenger who threatened to gang rape a stewardess and set her alight is revealed to be a millionaire recruitment tycoon whose business eventually went bust with £17 million worth of debts.
Salman Iftikhar, a Pakistani national, lived in a six-bedroom detached home worth £2 million in Iver, Buckinghamshire.
On his driveway sat a fleet of luxury cars, including a Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Range Rover and Mercedes.
Social media photos showed him proudly posing in front of a royal blue Rolls-Royce with white leather interiors.
One neighbour said: “He’s definitely very flash, someone who likes to flaunt his wealth.
“How he made his money is beyond me, he ran a recruitment consultancy but I didn’t really tend to see him leave for work. He was around the house most of the time.”
He lived in the six-bedroom home with his wife Erum Salman and their three children.
Together, the pair run a London-based staffing company that provides training to businesses working in customer service and manufacturing.
His company, Core Labour Supply Limited (CLSL), specialised in aviation recruitment and at its peak reported a turnover of nearly £90 million in 2022.
But the business collapsed into administration, owing more than £17 million – over £11 million to HMRC and £6.885 million to HSBC.
Iftikhar paid himself dividends of nearly £1 million annually between 2018 and 2021.
The millionaire continued to live a lavish lifestyle even as the company struggled.
Industry sources say the collapse followed a sharp decline during the Covid-19 pandemic, when two major clients accounting for 35% of business pulled out.
Back in Pakistan, he has another wife, supermodel and actress Abeer Rizvi, with whom he has been married for five years.
The actress, who has more than half a million followers on TikTok, has shared loved-up videos of the couple looking happier than ever, cuddled up together or attending film premieres together.
But at Isleworth Crown Court, Iftikhar was sentenced to 15 months in prison after admitting racially aggravated harassment and making threats to kill.
The charges related to a drunken tirade aboard a Virgin Atlantic flight from London Heathrow to Lahore, Pakistan.
Flying in first class with Erum Salman and their children, Iftikhar repeatedly called stewardess Angie Walsh a “f***ing b***h” and threatened:
“You will be dragged out of your hotel room, gang raped and set alight.”
Iftikhar also called Ms Walsh a “f***ing white Welsh c***”.
He later threatened to blow up the five-star hotel where the crew were staying.
Despite the severity of the abuse, no action was taken against Iftikhar when the plane landed in Pakistan. He was only arrested after returning to the UK, when officers visited his Buckinghamshire home.
In court, Ms Recorder Annabel Darlow KC, said:
“Your threats to kill were made in the presence of children, specifically your three young children.”
“These were threats made with significant violence. Your children had to be comforted by cabin crew staff while you made those threats.
“Ms Walsh has given up a job which she has loved for 14 months, but thankfully has now returned to work. This was a sustained incident which involved repeated racist abuse to Ms Walsh.”
Iftikhar has six previous convictions, including one for common assault.
The judge added: “You have a lengthy and appalling record of misconduct. You have not addressed the underlying cause of this for many years, that is your drug and alcohol problem.
“Given your lifestyle and your ability to earn money, your harm and risk has not moved. This was an appalling incident which has caused long-lasting and devastating consequences.”
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