An investigation by the Al Jazeera broadcaster to be released Monday found that middlemen were prepared to enable a fictitious criminal investor to buy a storied English football club, now managed by the legendary Wayne Rooney. The investigation found that, with the help of a fixer, Derby County FC was prepared to go through with a $137 million sale to a fictitious Chinese buyer, despite a ban on serious criminals purchasing a club.Under the English Football League’s owners and directors’ test, anyone with an unspent conviction that carried a custodial sentence of more than 12 months is barred from acquiring a club. As Al Jazeera reported, their undercover reporters found out the identity of the proposed buyer.”Whatever else is going on behind-the-scenes at the club, support the players because they’re giving everything they can to make sure this club moves forwards.”A message for you from @WayneRooney 🐏#DCFC— Derby County (@dcfcofficial) August 6, 2021 “Posing as representatives of a Chinese criminal with convictions for bribery and money laundering, undercover reporters from Al Jazeera’s investigative unit reached the brink of striking a deal to buy Derby County, twice English league champions and one of England’s oldest football clubs.”The broadcaster said its undercover reporters met with Christopher Samuelson, an alledged offshore trust expert and football deal maker.”Our reporters tell Samuelson that Mr X, as we call our fictitious investor, is very rich, was sentenced in absentia to seven years imprisonment and smuggled his money out of China though Macau casinos. Now he wants to buy an English football club to launder his money.”The best player Sir Alex Ferguson has ever seen, a.k.a. the biggest waste of talent, is not done yetSamuelson is seen giving a “step-by-step guide on how he can use offshore trusts to hide our criminal investor’s money and identity,” according to the broadcaster.The reporters were introduced to a private investigator as well as a network of “enablers” in Cyprus who were willing to supply an EU passport in a new name, the network added. The latest revelations follow a series of disclosures around Cyprus’s tarnished passports-for-cash scheme that sought to attract investors, also reported by Al Jazeera.Tuesday, 21.45: (2.10) Derby (3.30) Salford City (3.30)Last year the broadcaster aired a documentary showing reporters pretending to represent a Chinese businessman seeking a Cypriot passport despite having a criminal record, and being helped by influential officials.Cyprus’s Attorney-General George Savvides told journalists ahead of Monday’s broadcast that any new evidence would be “properly evaluated” by the police and prosecutors. Samuelson’s lawyers told Al Jazeera their client had never been informed that Mr X had a criminal conviction for money laundering and bribery. 😳 Wayne Rooney hits back at his critics.#DCFC 🐏 pic.twitter.com/NAsWEal98c— Pitch Football (@PitchFooty) August 7, 2021 Derby County owner Mel Morris said that the club would only be sold to ‘appropriate custodians’ and that they had not had any ‘formal association’ with Samuelson for some time.© Agence France-Presse
