Premier League is asked if it has investigated Manchester City owner over Russia allegations
theguardian.comThe Premier League has been asked to confirm whether it has investigated the billionaire owner of Manchester City Football Club under its “fit and proper” owners’ test, over allegations of helping Russian oligarchs avoid western sanctions after the invasion of Ukraine.
Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan, the deputy prime minister of the UAE and a member of the ruling family of Abu Dhabi, has been accused in media reports of helping to allow rich Russians to evade sanctions by moving their assets, including superyachts and private jets, to the Emirates.
A Ukrainian human rights activist, who has chosen to remain anonymous, has hired UK lawyers to inquire whether the Premier League and the Football Association have taken any steps to ascertain whether Mansour “remains a person suitable to be an owner of a football club”. Mansour bought the club in 2008 and has invested billions into transforming it into one of the world’s most successful teams.
In a letter, the lawyers cite media reports that the UAE has emerged as one of the top destinations for oligarchs – including the former Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich – seeking to avoid sanctions in the west.
“Many Russian oligarchs and prominent wealthy supporters of President Putin’s regime have continued to conspicuously enjoy their wealth by transferring assets from the UK, US, EU and other jurisdictions in which sanctions are in place, to third-party states without any sanctions regime or any appetite to oppose the Putin regime,” the letter states.
“One of the most high-profile destinations for the assets of sanctioned Russian individuals is the United Arab Emirates, with Dubai and Abu Dhabi apparently being particularly attractive to those individuals.”
The lawyers
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