Bin Laden's brother runs Hard Rock Café

Hafan bin Laden, a brother of the most wanted man in the world, runs a chain of Hard Rock Café restaurants in the Middle East, it has emerged.

Bin Laden is an owner of Hard Rock Café Middle East, a franchise of the American chain. The company's headquarters is in Beirut, Lebanon.

Hafan bin Laden - described by executive director Armand Simonian as "an extremely nice person" - is one of a group of investors that owns six Hard Rock Cafés in Beirut; Dubai; Bahrain; Cairo and Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt; and Ankara, Turkey.

The company's territory also includes Cyprus and Greece, where outlets are due to open next year.

Simonian said that business was down because of the fall in foreign tourist numbers and added: "We hope it will be short-lived. If there's anybody, apart from the military and arms manufacturers, who can tell you he's not going to suffer, then he's either a fool or he needs to wake up."

Bin Laden was not available for interview.