Sheikh Mansour may very well be disqualified from proudly owning the English champions if he’s sanctioned by the UK
The UK authorities should examine if Manchester Metropolis proprietor Sheikh Mansour assisted rich Russians underneath Western sanctions in transferring their property to the United Arab Emirates, legal professionals representing an nameless Ukrainian activist have stated.
“Sheikh Mansour is a very high-profile particular person and because the proprietor of one of many United Kingdom’s most celebrated soccer golf equipment, is an individual who must be topic to cheap scrutiny by the UK authorities,” a letter despatched to UK overseas secretary James Cleverly reads, in line with quite a few sources on Friday.
It provides that following the invention of what the letter says is a “wealth of proof” linking Sheikh Mansour “with the lodging of rich Russians within the UAE,” there’s a foundation “for the UK authorities to conduct an investigation.” The request for an replace from Cleverly follows an preliminary inquiry from the identical authorized crew in September final 12 months. The Ukrainian activist behind the letter is sustaining their anonymity for concern of reprisal, studies say.
The letter calls upon UK lawmakers to find out if Mansour needs to be thought-about a “designated particular person” who can be topic to monetary sanctions underneath the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Rules 2019.
If a authorities investigation have been to conclude that Mansour was a person topic to sanctions, it will disqualify him from proudly owning Manchester Metropolis underneath up to date possession guidelines within the English Premier League revealed in March. Mansour can be probably answerable for sanctions if he was decided to have participated in actions that threaten or undermine Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
The letter provides that “many Russian oligarchs seem to have discovered a house for his or her wealth within the United Arab Emirates, with Dubai and Abu Dhabi apparently being significantly engaging to these people.”
In response, a spokesperson for the UK’s International, Commonwealth, and Growth Workplace (FCDO) stated: “We is not going to tolerate makes an attempt to assist Russian oligarchs cover their property in complicated monetary networks and in April launched a sanctions package deal to crack down on their enablers.”
The FCDO is “conscious” of Russian efforts to bypass sanctions, the Guardian stated on Friday. The newspaper additionally notes that the governmental physique has elevated its efforts in varied nations, together with the UAE, Türkiye, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Georgia, Armenia and Serbia, to disrupt Russian efforts to supply sanctioned items utilized in weapons manufacturing.
Final week, the UK authorities stated that in extra of 1,800 had been sanctioned underneath its rules. About 1,600 of those got here following the onset of Moscow’s navy motion in Ukraine final 12 months – certainly one of whom was former Chelsea proprietor Roman Abramovich, who was later compelled to promote the Premier League giants.
Sheikh Mansour bought Manchester Metropolis in 2008. Throughout his tenure as proprietor, the membership has gained seven Premier League titles, six League Cups, three FA Cups and one UEFA Champions League. Mansour has attended simply two matches since gaining possession of the membership.
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