How The Mighty Have Fallen!

[Mobi]

Portsmouth deny Shinawatra link

Thaksin Shinawatra

Shinawatra sold his in stake in Manchester City in September 2008

Premier League boss Sir Dave Richards says any takeover of Portsmouth would be refused if former Manchester City owner Thaksin Shinawatra was involved.

UAE property tycoon Dr Sulaiman Al Fahim is close to assuming full control at Fratton Park within the next month.

But the south coast club have strongly denied reports claiming ex-Thai Prime Minister Shinawatra will play a role.

And Richards told BBC Five Live: "If Dr Thaksin was involved, the takeover will not be allowed to go through."

Newspaper reports also suggested Richards himself has been involved in the deal, but Portsmouth denied this.

Richards said: "At this stage the Premier League do not know if he (Shinawatra) is involved.

"The Premier League have met the advisors to Dr Sulaiman this week and we have made it very clear that we want to know who are the shareholders in the possible takeover of Portsmouth.

"Before it can be taken over the people who are involved have to meet the fit and proper persons test."

Earlier, Portsmouth released a statement on their official website denying any link with Shinawatra.

The statement read: "Neither Thaksin Shinawatra, nor his advisor Pairoj Piempongsant are involved in funding Dr Sulaiman al Fahim's bid for the club.

"A representative for Dr Sulaiman al Fahim met with Premier League officials last week and confirmed that he is the sole purchaser of the football club and this will be verified by his lawyers.

"Pompey executive chairman Peter Storrie met Pairoj Piempongsat during his time at Manchester City some two years ago. Pairoj subsequently introduced Mr Storrie to Dr Sulaiman al Fahim and that is the extent of his involvement in the proposed takeover."

As for suggestions Richards has a role in the sale, Portsmouth also said: "Sir Dave Richards has had no role to play in the proposed takeover, other than providing advice in his role as chairman of the Premier League.

"To suggest otherwise undermines the excellent work he does in his position."

The statement concluded: "The due diligence process for the purchase of the club is continuing well and should be completed by early July."

United Arab Emirates businessman Al Fahim was the initial figurehead of the Abu Dhabi United Group when they took control of Manchester City from Thaksin last year, but is now acting for himself.

His projected move for Portsmouth follows negotiations led by Portsmouth executive chairman Storrie on behalf of club owner Alexandre Gaydamak.

BBC NEWS

[sriracha john]

Additional related articles from the thread:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Thaksin-Bids...60#entry2803664

Is 'Sinatra' eyeing a new football club?

Even though we don't know exactly where ousted PM Thaksin Shinawatra is based, he is still managing to attract a lot of attention.

While the Thai government has been desperately looking for the man so he can serve his two-year jail sentence, Thaksin was recently caught in the spotlight of the British media over an alleged football club takeover.

Thaksin, who sold Manchester City to the Abu Dhabi United Group for 210 million pounds (Bt11.5 billion) last year, was linked to the Portsmouth football club deal offered by Dubai-based billionaire Sulaiman al-Fahim.

Al-Fahim, a property magnate, was the frontman for the United Arab Emirates' Sheikh Mansour in the Manchester City sale. This time, however, al-Fahim himself bid for Portsmouth.

The bidding, so far, is doubtful leading to speculation that Thaksin might be one of al-Fahim's financiers. Pairoj Piempongsant was the man who pointed Portsmouth club to al-Fahim. Pairoj, as a senior adviser to Thaksin, also oversaw the Manchester City dealings.

There may be some grounds to the denial because Thaksin cannot be considered a "fit and proper" person to own an English football club because he was convicted for corruption last October. If the man, dubbed "Sinatra" by fans of the Sky Blues, is really eying another football club he will have to use a nominee - his usual tactic when it comes to business.

Pompeygate

Premier League's Chairman faces an investigation into his links with the proposed £60 million takeover of Portsmouth FC

A shock Sun probe today reveals how Sir Dave Richards, one of the most powerful men in English football, has assisted in a deal that is looking increasingly murky and may even be blocked by his own organisation.

Fears are mounting that disgraced former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, the man who took over and was then forced out of Manchester City, could be linked to the takeover.

Two of the men involved in City's Shinawatra fiasco are now at the centre of the proposed Pompey deal - and Richards played an integral role in bringing them all together.

Under new powers, the Premier League can veto takeovers if they are not satisfied they know the identities of everyone involved.

But they now face the ludicrous prospect of having to quiz their own Chairman to find out what is going on and to rule out any suspicions Shinawatra might be a part of things.

- The Sun / 2009-06-13

Sharing a joke: Thaksin Shinawatra with Dave Richards

Pompey deal puts pressure on Premier League Chairman

Premier League Chairman Sir Dave Richards was under pressure as mystery deepened over the proposed takeover of Portsmouth.

Richards, who holds numerous offices in domestic and world football, faces criticism after a statement confirmed he had met prospective Portsmouth Chairman Dr Sulaiman Al Fahim in Rome before the Champions League final last month.

As the meeting took place before any offer had been announced or checks could be done on Al Fahim and his backers, critics will claim Richards was at best naive and at worst rode roughshod over the need for more transparency of ownership.

Despite strong denials by Portsmouth and Al Fahim, rumours continue that disgraced former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his right-hand man, Pairoj Piempongsant, have a financial interest in the bid by the Abu Dhabi-based developer's company, Al Fahim Asia Associates.

Shinawatra caused the Premier League huge embarrassment during his short tenure at Manchester City after being judged a fit and proper person despite accusations of human rights abuses during his time as Prime Minister and the two-year prison sentence he received in his homeland last October after being convicted on corruption charges.

Richards's judgment will be called into question and his actions will embarrass the football authorities with whom he holds prominent roles. As well as Chairman of the Premier League, Richards, knighted in 2006 for services to sport, is Vice-Chairman of the Football Association, Chairman of the FA's international committee and a Deputy Chairman of England's 2018 World Cup bid.

Yesterday a Premier League statement said: 'Dr Sulaiman Al Fahim invited Sir Dave Richards to meet him before the UEFA Champions League final in Rome at the end of May. Pairoj Piempongsant was present but, when the topic of Portsmouth FC was raised, Sir Dave asked him to leave, which he duly did.

'Since that time Sir Dave has been working appropriately with members of the Premier League executive to apply the relevant rules to the prospective acquisition of Portsmouth FC, including the Fit and Proper Persons Test and shareholder disclosure, making it abundantly clear that any involvement of Thaksin Shinawatra and his associates would not be permitted.'

Despite the League's defence of its Chairman, it is known that the Rome meeting was a source of displeasure to the Premier League. One source claimed Richards seemed to have taken it upon himself to see if Al Fahim was 'a good chap' and suggested deals to own Premier League clubs were still being approved 'without sufficient regard to protocol'.

Richards's position will not be helped by continuing uncertainty over who is behind the Portsmouth bid.

The club deny that either Shinawatra or Piempongsant have a financial interest in the deal and claim Al Fahim has told the Premier League he and AAA would be the sole purchasers of the club.

But the Premier League insist that a meeting with Al Fahim last week simply informed him what information he would have to provide before a takeover would be approved, namely the identity of any investor with a stake of more than 10 per cent in the club.

The Mail on Sunday can reveal that when two parties were approached about becoming part of a Portsmouth takeover and asked who was the ultimate source of the money, they were told that it came from Shinawatra and Piempongsant.

The first of those two was a British entrepreneur who was on business in Dubai, where Al Fahim is based and where Shinawatra has spent a great deal of his time since the UK revoked his visa last November following his conviction for corruption back in his Thai homeland.

The second was leading London law firm Hammonds. Both declined to become involved because of the alleged identity of the investors.

Portsmouth's assertion that Al Fahim is the 'sole purchaser' appears to run contrary to what Al Fahim's own spokesman, Ivo Ilic Gabara, told The Mail on Sunday last weekend when he refuted allegations of Shinawatra's involvement, but declined to deny Piempongsant had a financial interest or to say who had put the money into AAA.

Last Saturday Gabara said the rumours about Shinawatra were unfounded, but did not deny Piempongsant had a financial interest in the deal and would not name the investors from 'the Middle East and Asia' who Al Fahim had previously claimed were his backers.

Last night Gabara insisted the position remained the same. He said: 'The former Prime Minister of Thailand, Thaksin Shinawatra, is not party to the bid. The offer to buy the club was made by AAA, which is fully owned by Sulaiman Al Fahim.

'If there are investors who end up owning more than 10 per cent of Portsmouth Football Club, they will be disclosed to the Premier League and then to the public.'

Given the continuing rumours of Shinawatra's involvement, the Premier League are bound to seek further clarification before any deal is complete, as Richards himself confirmed.

'The Premier League have met the advisors to Dr Sulaiman this week and we have made it very clear that we want to know who are the shareholders in the possible takeover of Portsmouth,' he said.

'The people involved have to meet the Fit and Proper Persons Test. There has been a suggestion that possibly Dr Thaksin is involved. If that is the case, the takeover will not be allowed to go through.'

- Daily Mail / 2009-06-13

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Thaksin deal maker Pairoj Piempongsant (left) and Sulaiman al-Fahim (right)

[Samuian]

look like an absolutely trustworthy duo - those two...and then imagine who is their boss!

[mdechgan]

He has no one to blame but himself. What goes around comes around. Karma's a b_itch!

Edited June 14, 2009 by mdechgan