Murdered Saudi-born millionaire's personal assistant arrested in US

Dismembered body of Fahim Saleh, founder of motorbike-hailing app Gokada, was discovered in New York on Tuesday

Fahim Saleh founded the Gokada motorbike hailing app. Reuters

The personal assistant of a 33-year-old Saudi-born tech millionaire, whose decapitated and dismembered body was discovered in New York earlier this week, has been arrested over the killing, US media reported.

The body parts of Fahim Saleh, who founded the popular motorbike-hailing app Gokada, were placed into separate plastic rubbish bags when police entered his apartment on Tuesday. A power saw and cleaning supplies were found plugged in nearby.

According to The New York Times, his  21-year-old personal assistant, Tyrese Devon Haspil, is expected to be charged with second-degree murder. It's believed that before his death Mr Saleh discovered Mr Haspil had stolen tens of thousands of dollars from him, although this was not reported to police and a repayment agreement had been organised.

The body was found by Mr Saleh’s sister on Tuesday, whose imminent arrival reportedly led to the killer fleeing as the body was being cut up.

Security camera video showed Mr Saleh in the apartment building’s elevator with a man in a dark suit, mask and gloves, the media reports said. Footage showed the man following Mr Saleh into the seventh-storey apartment, where a struggle began.

Mr Saleh was born in Saudi Arabia to Bangladeshi parents and grew up in New York, founded the Pathao ride company in 2015 and in 2018, the Gokada motorbike hailing app, which was extremely popular in Lagos, Nigeria, until motorcycle taxis were banned there.

"We at Gokada are shocked and saddened to hear that Fahim Saleh, our founder and CEO, passed away under tragic circumstances in New York earlier this week," the company said on Wednesday.