Sulaiman al Fahim was today given the green light to complete his takeover of English club Portsmouth by the Premier League after passing their stringent fit and proper persons test.
The Premier League confirmed that after months of legal and financial due diligence, Mr al Fahim has been cleared to conclude his purchase of the South coast club from owner Alexandre Gaydamak. Portsmouth has announced he will join the club's existing four-member board with immediate effect.
An official statement said: "The Premier League can confirm that Mr al Fahim has submitted all the documentation required to satisfy our fit and proper persons test.
"Based on the information provided the League has found no reason why Mr al Fahim would be liable to be disqualified as a Director of a Premier League club.
"Accordingly we have advised Portsmouth FC that his appointment may proceed.
"As with all changes in club ownership the Premier League will continue to monitor any material changes in circumstance."
Mr al Fahim is the first person to pass the Premier League's new fit and proper test.
A statement on the club's website from Mr al Fahim read: "I very much look forward to working closely with the club's management and supporters to develop Portsmouth Football Club and deliver future success.
"The club has a long and fine history of achievement and I intend to build on."
Mr Gaydamak had announced last December he was looking for a buyer because he was unable to devote sufficient time to the club.
Mr al Fahim was involved in helping Sheikh Mansour and the Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG) acquire Manchester City in the summer of 2008 but has since severed all ties with City.
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*with Agencies
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
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