What is the fit-and-proper-person test?
Now the period of due diligence is almost over, Pompey fans can breathe a little easier. However, there is still one more hurdle to overcome if Sulaiman Al Fahim's Pompey takeover is finally be completed.
JORDAN CROSS reveals all there is to know about the Premier League's fit-and-proper-persons test.
What is the 'fit-and-proper-person test'?
In a nutshell the Premier League's 'fit-and-proper-person test' is a process the league undertakes to ensure a new club owner has the right credentials to complete a takeover.
It also involves directors and/or those who own more than 30 per cent of a club.
I'm doing the BUPA Great South Run and people say I'm a nice chap. Does that make me a fit and proper person?
Not if you've broken the law. There are a number of criteria laid down by the Premier League that a prospective new owner has to fulfil.
There are specific laws laid down by Premier League which would rule you out.
They are laid down in appendix 12 of their handbook and include everything from conspiracy to defraud to being subject to a football banning order. There are also a number of other issues to factor into the process.
A prospective owner is not allowed to be able to influence or be directly involved in 'another club or Football League club'.
Forget it, too, if you've been bankrupt or involved in a club which has had two or more unconnected cases of insolvency.
What's all this about the test being harder to pass?
Well, it is now a new all-singing, all-dancing test.
This largely was as a result of disgraced former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra taking over at Manchester City.
Shinawatra has been dogged by allegations of corruption and human-rights atrocities.
He was arrested in his country last year and now is in exile.
The fact such a controversial character passed the original test was the cause of some embarrassment for the league and brought about a tightening up of the process.
Shinawatra? Isn't he involved in the Pompey takeover?
No, not according to Al Fahim and his advisors. Al Fahim did originally indicate the Pompey buy-out would be funded by a group called Falcon Equity.
They, Al Fahim added, were made up of Asian and Middle Eastern investors.
It was later suggested under a blaze of media attention that Shinawatra was introduced to executive chairman Peter Storrie by Premier League chairman Dave Richards.
It was reported they were all involved in the deal along with Al Fahim and Shinawatra's dealmaker Pairoj Piempongsant.
Pompey were moved to deny Shinawatra had any involvement in the takeover and Al Fahim then insisted the move was solely funded by himself. The Premier League sought further assurances that was the case.
So what's different about the test now?
The main differences are the list of offences in appendix 12 of the Premier League's rulebook has been extended.
Also, under new rules, clubs must publicly disclose any investors who have a financial stake of more than 10 per cent in the club. Al Fahim is going to be the first man to go through the more stringent process, which was passed at last month's Premier League's meeting.
How long is the test going to take?
There is no 'one-size-fits-all' timescale for the test to work to.
A takeover could be undertaken by one person, a consortium or even a number of businesses. The length of time it takes to complete is variable as a result.
Al Fahim says he is completing the takeover on his own, so it should be quicker than it would be if there was a number of people to assess. Due diligence is now at a close and Pompey are confident the tests will take a week at the absolute maximum.
Do all businesses have to go through this test when someone buys them?
No, but Premier League clubs are subject to the same laws of the land as any business.
As a result Al Fahim has to comply with company law like anyone in the country.
Also, any person looking to use assets from overseas to purchase a company in this country must comply with the appropriate government law. That's the case with Al Fahim.
So the big one. Will Al Fahim pass the test?
That's the 64-million dollar question, and the facts suggest there is really nothing to stop Al Fahim sailing through with flying colours.
He fits all the criteria laid out by the Premier League, is a respected figure with impeccable credentials and is a mightily successful businessman.
There has been a heck of mud-slinging aimed in the 32-year-old's direction relating from everything to reported problems with his Hydra Properties business to him being incorrectly titled an honorific doctor.
The facts, however, suggest there is no reason for him not to be cleared to complete the deal.
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Thursday 24 May 2012
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