Men found in burned-out car in Sweden confirmed as missing Britons as case remains unsolved

The identities of two men who were found dead in a burned-out car in Sweden have been confirmed as British nationals.

Business partners and best friends Farooq Abdulrazaq, 37, and Juan Cifuentes, 33, had travelled for an overnight business trip to Denmark on 14 July to promote their agency, Empire Holidays .

Swedish prosecutors say they have now identified remains as belonging to the two men - almost a month after their bodies were discovered.

Family members reported the pair missing after they failed to board their return flight to London. Two men were found dead on 14 July in the city of Malmo , inside a rented Toyota RAV4 left in the Fosie industrial area.

A close friend to the pair previously told The Independent he feared it may have been a targeted attack but did not believe the business partners would have got into trouble in Sweden.

Prosecutor Magnus Petterson confirmed, based on information from the Swedish Medical Examiner's Office, they were able to establish that the deceased are the two British citizens.

“The investigation now continues with interviews, technical investigations, collection and analysis of digital evidence and other investigative measures. ,” he said in a written statement.

“We have close cooperation with British authorities and that work will continue.”

There have been no arrests yet.

The close friend, who did not want to be identified, previously told The Independent : “They travelled from Denmark and had no problems. They crossed the border and were shot at in the forest, either [because] they had money on them or were in a nice car. They were shot at first so an altercation must have happened before.

“Farooq helped out so much with charities, he had absolutely nothing to do with drugs or gangs.”

The friend said they were very close “like Tom and Jerry”.

He added: “You have your best mate – sometimes you fall out, but they always stuck together. They managed to mix business and friendship and make it work. They were trying to promote their business by going into new areas, looking for hotspots and posting online to get people to come in.

The pair ran a travel agency called Empire Holidays together and had posted pictures of them posing in the sea in Mexico and Colombia in recent months.

Swedish outlet TV4 claimed their bodies were burnt so badly they would need to be identified with dental records.