Man City chair holds UK diplomatic immunity granted in 2020

The latest:

Manchester City chair Khaldoon al-Mubarak has held UK diplomatic immunity since 2020, the Financial Times reported, a status that bars criminal investigation and in most cases civil proceedings on British soil. The disclosure follows a Premier League independent commission ruling on Tuesday that the club breached financial rules by artificially inflating revenues by more than £900mn. City denies the charges and will appeal.

Details:

• The ruling: The Premier League said an independent commission found City guilty of all charges tied to serious breaches of its financial rules, after an investigation opened in 2018. The league said the club concealed the true state of its finances from auditors and football regulators to circumvent spending limits between 2009 and 2018.
• The mechanism: According to the commission’s findings cited by the FT, City used a private company controlled by owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan to dramatically augment fees paid by legitimate commercial sponsors. Sheikh Mansour, who bought the club in 2008, also holds senior roles in the UAE government.
• The club’s defence: Chief executive Ferran Soriano said the case rests on a single false accusation, that the owners’ personal money was secretly channelled into the club through Abu Dhabi sponsors. He said irrefutable evidence submitted to the commission shows this could not have happened and did not happen.
• No personal allegation: The FT reported there is no suggestion of personal wrongdoing by Mubarak, who has chaired City since 2008. He is among the UAE president’s most trusted advisers and serves as chief executive of Abu Dhabi sovereign fund Mubadala.
• The legal exposure: Two people familiar with the situation told the FT the findings, if upheld, could open the door to further proceedings, a source of concern for City. Lawyers not involved said that could include civil claims from rival clubs and criminal investigations by the Serious Fraud Office or police.
• The immunity test: Nick Vamos, former head of extradition at the Crown Prosecution Service, said Mubarak would have full protection from criminal prosecution and immunity from civil actions relating to his official functions. He added there could be debate over whether the activities in question were official or purely private.
• The precedent: The FT cited a 2016 English test case in which former Qatari prime minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani successfully argued he could not be sued in England because of his diplomatic immunity. Individuals on the UK diplomatic list are largely immune from civil litigation.
• The prosecution hurdle: Any SFO case would have to be brought under fraud laws in force at the time of the alleged conduct, requiring prosecutors to prove the directing mind of the corporate entity was complicit. Financial crime barrister Tom Forster KC said evidence of systemic false accounting and Companies Act offences would create significant prosecution risk.
• Mubarak’s response: In a weekend statement, the chair said some people had been quick to reach their own conclusions, that nothing had changed, and that the club had prevailed over challenges before. He said many want to undermine the club’s momentum and will not be given that opportunity.
• The diplomatic stakes: UK officials told the FT the UAE notified the government of Mubarak’s status in 2020, and public lists show him as a UAE embassy official in London in 2022. A 2021 sovereign investment partnership led by Mubadala has generated £30bn in UAE commitments to Britain, overseen by Mubarak.

Background:

Mubarak has chaired Abu Dhabi’s Executive Affairs Authority, the emirate’s equivalent of the UK Cabinet Office, since 2006. One senior UK government figure told the FT it would be very odd if someone in his position lacked diplomatic status, describing him as the main liaison with Washington.

Between the lines:

The immunity question matters because the routes to liability named by lawyers run through individuals as well as the club. A fraud prosecution would require proving the directing mind was complicit, while Vamos flagged that civil protection turns on whether the conduct counted as official functions. Any escalation also collides with the £30bn investment channel Mubarak oversees.

What’s next

City’s appeal against the commission’s decision is the next step. Watch whether the Serious Fraud Office or police open an inquiry, whether rival Premier League clubs file civil claims, and whether the UAE foreign ministry responds publicly.