By Mata Press Service

When self-styled Lebanese billionaire Elie Youssef Najem declared that he was donating US$275million (C$314 million) for cancer research in Malaysia, the alarm bells started ringing in Winnipeg.

Elie Youssef Najem Photo credit: thestar.com

When he claimed to be a lord and a prince, the Lebanese government said they didn’t know of any such royalty and that he had been convicted of cheque forgery in Lebanon.

Now Cyprus authorities say this man, who claims to be from a family of doctors could assist them in several cases of fraud, theft and cheating.

The Canadian High Commission in Kuala Lumpur has denied his claims of citizenship.

The religious authorities in Malaysia are checking into the legitimacy of his marriage to a teen while immigration officers have found irregularities involving his travel documents.

If that is not enough, Interpol is working to see how many other countries want the 45-year-old "billionaire."

Welcome to the topsy-turvy world of "Dr." Elie Youssef Najem.

He walks with the aid of crutches, surrounds himself with bodyguards and boasts without batting an eyelid that he has controlling interests in banking, construction, petroleum, telecommunications, software and palm oil industries in Sweden, New Zealand, Canada, Dubai, Qatar and Malaysia worth over US$40 billion (C$46 billion).

There’s one problem though.

Mr. Big cannot back up his big claims, big donations, and big money.

Instead what has surfaced is a global trail of debt and deceit that has landed Najem in a Malaysian police jail saddled with three counts of cheating.

"All the allegations against me are trumped up and untrue," Najem told the Malaysian media after he was released on bail recently.

The "self-proclaimed" but largely unknown billionaire startled Malaysian media last month when he announced an unheard of multi-million donation to the National Cancer Council of Malaysia.

"I come from a very important family in the Middle East and my donations to the National Cancer Council (Makna) involve people high up in Malaysian society…I am more than a billionaire," he told a press conference flanked by a government official and his 19-year-old wife.

Within hours, complaints of "he owes me money" started flowing to local newspapers and the Malaysian Chinese Association political party headquarters.

The Malaysian Chinese Association said it had received five complaints, including one for an outstanding payment of RM400,000 (C$122,000) for furniture purchased, and RM10,000 (C$3,000) for locks and keys.

The Star newspaper detailed more complaints after receiving a call from a florist who alleged Najem had not paid RM5,000 (C$1,500) for flowers supplied for his wedding, and from an estate agent said to be owed RM28,000 (C$8,500) in rental for office premises.

Since then, his litany of claims to riches and philanthropy has grown.

So has the list of people who have complained about him taking them for a ride.

Background checks showed that Winnipeg police had arrested Elie Youssef Najem in March 1993 after he allegedly threatened one of the hundreds of women he recruited for his "Bright and Early" phone chat line.

Staff Sgt. Darryl Preisentanz had at the time said Najem was charged with uttering threats to kill and that "several people are very concerned for their safety."

Najem was also being investigated for fraud in relation to his recruitment of women for his business.

Several employees of the Bright and Early phone chat line walked out on Najem after his arrest and turned company files over to police.

Hundreds of unemployed women reportedly answered Najem’s classified ads in Winnipeg newspapers, which offered $10 per hour for phone operators on "psychic and hot lines."

Najem was released on his own recognizance, but has not turned up to answer the charge against him. The charge against him in Winnipeg remains, police said.

When confronted with this information Najem denied that he owned a phone sex company in Canada.

"First of all, there’s freedom of speech in Canada, and secondly, I never ever owned such a company," he said.

He, however, admitted that he had previously been investigated on a charge of sexually molesting a former employee, but said the charge was later dropped.

Najem claimed to have left Canada in 1993.

The New Straits Times reported that Interpol had confirmed Najem was convicted of cheque forgery in Lebanon last year and was sentenced to a year’s jail.

He left the country while the appeal was pending and entered Malaysia last June.

Soon after his arrival, Najem married 19-year-old Malaysian Farinnie Farid.

His wife, who is three months pregnant, told The Star that their "two hearts are inseparable."

Their marriage has sparked yet another controversy after Utusan Malaysia claimed Najem had refused to prove that he had converted to Islam, and could still be a Christian.

Anyone who marries a Muslim in Malaysia must convert to Islam.

Undeterred at the litany of negative reports and colourful accounts of his past, Najem continues with his spectacular claims, the latest being the development of a multi-billion dollar underwater city off Dubai.

During a press conference after an appearance in Malaysian courts, Najem gave reporters a tour of his spartan condominium in a tony Kuala Lumpur neighbourhood and a three-hour question and answer session.

"I am hurt and angry at all these allegations," he said when asked about the cynicism of Malaysians about him.

Najem, who said he suffered from cancer, added he lived in a modest three-bedroom condominium due to safety reasons as he had been kidnapped twice.

"Why would I want to get kidnapped again?" he asked.

During the interview, there were two bodyguards in his apartment. They were armed with a pistol each.

Another 15 uniformed security personnel stood outside his home.

He claimed that his problems stemmed from a falling out with a business associate in Malaysia.

"I had hired four women workers when I came to Malaysia but when they found out I was getting married to Farinnie (Farid) they all resigned on the spot," he said.

"They then lodged a report against me for not paying their salaries," he said.

He also claimed to have extended US$2 billion (C$2.3 billion) to a contractor to build the Penang Bridge although the project only cost less than US$400 million (C$457 million) and that he was also going to donate a helicopter to the Malaysian National Cancer Council.

As the Malaysian soap opera of the billionaire and his incredible claims entered its second month, Najem made another claim about himself.

This time he said he had a degree in law as well as a PhD in criminology and that he had received a text message from a journalist, threatening to kill him.

"I will be filing a lawsuit against the newspaper that sent this message to me," he said.

The "billionaire" also insisted that his pledge to Malaysia’s National Cancer Council will be realized in February and that the money is in the bank.