Chainrai flying to UK ‘to help sort out Pompey’s future’
Balram Chainrai
FORMER Pompey owner Balram Chainrai says he’s flying to the UK this week to try to sort out the club’s future.
The Hong-Kong-based businessman, who owned the club with Israeli Levi Kushnir through a company called Portpin, are still owed £17m.
Mr Chainrai told the South China Morning Post: ‘I’m still in a good position.
‘I still have a debenture over the club as security on the club’s full assets, so one way or another I’m going to get my money back.
‘But I don’t want to see the club liquidated. Anything I can do to help Portsmouth I will.’
He also claimed he and Mr Kushnir had covered the January salaries which went unpaid last week.
However, as of last Friday the salaries had yet to be paid, with the club’s bank account frozen as a result of the winding-up petition due to be heard at the High Court on February 20.
‘Not many people would do this, but we wanted to help sustain the club through this difficult period,’ he said.
‘I’ve very happy memories of Portsmouth FC and don’t want to see it go under.’
The adminsitrator for Pompey’s former parent company, CSI, Andrew Andronikou, told The News on Saturday he was still seeking a validation order to unfreeze the account.
Mr Chainrai added: ‘I travel to the UK [in the next few days] and I’ll do whatever I can do to help them. I’ll get a better idea of how things stand when I get there.’
Pompey’s plight was raised in the House of Commons last week by Portsmouth North MP Penny Mordaunt and Prime Minister David Cameron backed calls for HMRC and the club to negotiate to ensure the club survives.
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Comments
There are 184 comments to this article
Page 1 of 13
Wipers Sniper
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 at 11:09 AM@177 - Pirate Pete No he isn't a crook. He is a good, hard working businessman, who is managing his portfolio as well as he can in this financial maelstrom we are all in. We are no different to any other business out there for sale, he is just trying to protect his money and who wouldn't do that. Get over the fact that PFC is a 'family', 'the soul of the city' and other such trifling verbeage, take those rose tinted specs off and get real. We are a failing business and always have been since we first started living beyond our means many, many years ago (not many complained). We don't have a large support, look at us now. Where are the other 10,000 so called supporters that were here in the PL years. They don't care anymore because we don't have a product worth paying for. BC is doing his best to make the best for all parties but don't expect this to end happily, we are finished as an entity and need to be born again. Worryingly, I bet that we struggle to get gates above 1500 in the Conference South and after a few dodgy games, that will go down to less than 1200. This is possibly the worst time in the last 50 years to go bankrupt, and we are not going to be climbing out of this hole.
pfcbutton
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 06:24 PMfatcatpat - you are right about the regulation, which is why it is easier for PST to become an agent for a company already using this business model successfully. PST then sell the product and recieve a commission to generate funding for the club, ultimately people will then still have a decent pension and it is not a case of putting all your eggs in one basket ..
Fatcatpat
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 06:02 PMThe SIPP talk is not the way to go, for one thing the regulation is pretty complex, and for another nobody should put more money into a football club than they can afford to lose! Dividing the real estate into 10,000 little bits and selling them to fans might be a good idea though, it would stop speculators from ever acquiring the park. Would be a nightmare if we ever wanted to move to our shiny dream 35,000 seat stadium elsewhere though!
Plymouth Graham
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 06:00 PMhttp:www.twohundredpercent.net?p=12761 for those out of the loop here is a great article about Arcadie Gaydamak and PFC
pfcbutton
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 04:58 PM@162 MileEnder - you are absolutely correct I am not in the pension industry direct, but I know people that excel in this area and they have put together a credible plan, which is not what I quoted and your right it was misleading as I was running before I could walk so to speak! There is an idea that using the SIPP product would work but the PST needs to become a registered agent. I can put this before the trust, does anyone know who the best contact would be at PST??
Fatcatpat
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 04:14 PMGuys, if this was on one of my websites, I'd be a bit worried, some of us are getting a little close to libelling a few people. Can we moderate our own posts before the News gets nervous and pulls the whole thing? As 'Private Eye' fans will know, being right is not always enough! I don't think BC has the long term health of PFC at the top of his priorities either, but that just makes him a typical investorproperty developer. It's looking like a race between Greece and PFC at the moment!
B_army
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 03:38 PMWelcome back oh saviour of our club. can you please advise when next week (there are still a couple of days before the 20th) we will have to pay in cash only for massively overpriced season tickets, whilst all the players are sold and we get the points reduction for you attempting to put us into admin (again). Sorry to be negative (realistic?), but perhaps he's coming over to sign off the club he loves so much to a genuine person who's interested in stabilising the club rather then fleecing it. Or is he going to get new admin guys for CSI as UHY have proved to be incompetent. Take your pick :-)
pirate pete
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 02:56 PMChainrai is a genuine crook. It seems obvious some people on here seem to enjoy going round and round in all these miserable circles. Not paying taxes, promising to pay off small creditors in full and not delivering, not paying charities. Southseasteve is correct. Ask yourselves how this man came to own the club. Did any money change hands between him and the owner at the time? Was there a n exchange of contracts to prove that this man now owns Fratton Park or this man now owns PFC and if there was who did he buy it from? Was Daniel Azougy a close associate of Chainrai? Did Chainrai seize control Of Beitar Jerusalem and asset strip that club. Any idea what Portpin is and what it trades in as there seems to be nothing on the web. If people can sit nice and cosy with this parasite of a man in and around our club, then go to the park and sing out his name from the rafters and rejoice in the return of the Messiah.
The Imposter
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 02:34 PMAnyway I hope you've all signed up to the 12TH man website.................www.pompeys12thman.co.uk
billy wilsons my uncle
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 02:02 PMI agree totally with" Allezlesbleus" why do people keep trashing evryone?its totally unhelpful,its absolutly pointless getting upset & nasty with all & sundrie!it serves no purpose & does you know credit!just stay positive & let them sort things out,what is to be will be,theres nothing you can do unless you have deep deep pockets!personally i think Chainrai is genuine!!
Fatcatpat
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 01:35 PMAllez, is the time right on your PC? are you perhaps not on GMT? This forum is not as well sorted as some sites!
southseasteve
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 01:33 PMallezlesbleus - if there was proof on the net of what most believe is happening then they'd both be in prison wouldn't they? all you can do is read up on all the opinion out there and make up your own mind. Type 'Chainrai Gaydamak war' into google and read the articles that come up. That's a start, then log into most other Pompey fans sites and catch up on the threads. I believe the majority of Pompey fans now believe along the same lines. Doesn't mean it's true - but then what are these threads for if not sharing our opinions with each other?
allezlesbleus
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 01:20 PMThat is the first time it has happened to me - I post a reply to 171 and it appears at 170 - to save time tomorrow I woudl like to offer up my objections to post 497 but won't do this until 396 which I posted yesterday - or is that all rumour? who knows!
trueblueinkiwiland
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 01:11 PMI think Southsea Steve has pretty much summed it up perfectly. Hadn't read his post, most of which is provable if you bother to do some digging. Certainly the debts between Arcadi and Chainrai are well documented. It is also obvious that Fahim was sold to, to stop Chainrai gaining control, unfortunately Fahim couldn't find funds and Chainrai came in by default, not by choice, at which stage he should ckearly have placed us intio admin, however, he did not, he sold the entire playing squad, clearly pocketing most of the cash whilst under the guise of "AL mirage" then popped up to put us into admin (not before pocketing the cash from the sales of Kaboul and Begovic). All of this seems incredibly clear to me and explains the whole process perfectly. I can't see how anyone can question it, I havn't heard any more plausible theories and this one is largely based on provable FACT
allezlesbleus
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 01:08 PMLove to see the links to the facts because I am clearly having issues with my search engines if I can't find them and they are easy to find. Please; no more affirmation of rumour and theories, just links to the facts
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