United Arab Emirates’ Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, owner of Manchester City, is said to have helped Russian oligarchs circumvent Western sanctions. A Ukrainian now wants to know if the Premier League is investigating the billionaire club owner.
Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan is not exactly famous in Germany. In England he is best known as the owner of the English soccer champions Manchester City, who has been feeding the club billions since 2008 and who, among other things, formed one of the most successful teams in the world with star coach Pep Guardiola and goalscorer Erling Haaland. Back home, he is Deputy Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and a powerful member of the Abu Dhabi ruling family.
As far as Mansour’s official roles. He is also known for thoroughly cultivating his relations with Russia. According to media reports, he is extremely active behind the scenes and is helping rich Russians to avoid sanctions imposed by the West because of Moscow’s war of aggression against Ukraine. As the Guardian reports, the Premier League has now been asked to confirm whether it has investigated the billionaire club owner as part of its owner suitability test.
As early as April, Bloomberg reported, citing anonymous sources familiar with Abu Dhabi’s relations with Russia, that the sheikh is said to have helped wealthy Russians escape Western sanctions and transfer money to the Emirates. According to the Guardian report, superyachts and private jets are said to have been transferred to Mansour’s land. A Ukrainian human rights activist has hired British lawyers to investigate whether the league and the FA have taken steps to determine whether Mansour “remains a suitable person to own a football club”.
In a letter, the lawyers said, according to the Guardian: “Many Russian oligarchs and prominent wealthy supporters of President Putin’s regime have continued to conspicuously enjoy their wealth by acquiring assets from the UK, US, EU and other countries in who are subject to sanctions, have transferred to third countries where there are no sanctions and who are not willing to oppose the Putin regime.” The lawyer’s letter named the United Arab Emirates, particularly Dubai and Abu Dhabi, as one of the top targets for oligarchs – including former Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich.
Among other things, Abramovich’s $350 million Boeing 787 Dreamliner private plane has been in Dubai since early March. Several sanctioned oligarchs have also relocated their superyachts to the Emirates. They include nickel magnate Vladimir Potanin, whose $300 million ship Nirvana was spotted in Dubai in June.
The Ukrainian’s lawyers are now demanding that the UK government should investigate any “legitimate concerns that Sheikh Mansour or any other person may have supported sanctioned persons” and seek information from the Premier League and the Football Association of England on Mansour’s suitability to own the property has been reviewed in the light of the reports. All English football club owners and directors should uphold basic human standards, rights and values, according to the lawyers.
