The sale of 50% of the famed soccer team Beitar Jerusalem to an Emirati businessman from the royal family has been called off, Israeli media reported last week.

Following the high-profile sale by the team’s owner, high-tech entrepreneur Moshe Hogeg, to Emirati businessman Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, Israel’s Football Association discovered a significant gap between Al Nahyan’s declared capital and what he actually owns, The Marker reported last month.

The investigation, commissioned by the Israel Football Association and carried out by the Megiddo financial investigations company, concluded that Al Nahyan owns dozens of inactive firms and also allegedly has ties to businessmen involved with fraud and money laundering.

Al Nahyan stated his capital as $1.6 billion but according to the investigation, $1.5 billion  is in the form of non-tradable bonds belonging to the Venezuelan government, rendering the bonds worthless due to Venezuela’s current dire economic crisis. The value of other assets that Al Nahyan stated was also far less than claimed.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)