By Andrew Warshaw
February 5 – The unpredictable and often precarious nature of foreign ownership in club football has been starkly illustrated by Birmingham City owner Carson Yeung resigning as a director of both the club and its parent company Birmingham International Holdings Ltd (BIHL) as he awaits the verdict of a money laundering trial.
The Hong King businessman has lost two appeals to have the trial thrown out, having pleaded not guilty to five charges of laundering HK$721.3 million ($93 million) of deposits from parties including a Macau casino operator and securities firms over a seven-year period up to 2007.
Yeung was chairman of Grandtop International Holdings Ltd., which in 2007 bought a 29.9% stake in Birmingham for £15 million. He bought the rest of the club in 2009, paying £81.5 million to David and Ralph Gold and David Sullivan, and Grandtop changed its name to Birmingham International Holdings Ltd.
Before his takeover, Yeung was a little-known businessman whose only previous experience with professional football consisted of a stint as chairman of Hong Kong Rangers Football Club from 2005-06. ”Carson Yeung has taken this decision to focus more time on his ongoing court case and to satisfy one of the requirements for the resumption of trading of BIHL shares,” said Birmingham’s acting chairman, Peter Pannu.
“I will endeavour to update supporters further following the forthcoming EGM [extraordinary general meeting] in Hong Kong.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank Carson Yeung for his vision, dedication and generous support for the football club.”
This latest announcement on Yeung’s future was initially made in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange. Birmingham, relegated from the Premier League in 2011, currently stand 18th in the Championship, six points clear of the relegation zone.
Yeung, who is expecting the verdict in his trial on February 28, remains the largest shareholder in BIHL with a 26% stake.
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