Manchester City’s Emirati chair's diplomatic immunity complicates legal action

The Emirati chair of Manchester City, Khaldoon al-Mubarak, received diplomatic immunity in the UK in 2020, which generally protects individuals from criminal prosecution and certain legal proceedings in the country where they serve.

On Tuesday, the Premier League announced that an independent commission had found City guilty on 115 counts of breaching its financial rules by artificially inflating its finances by more than £900 million.

Mubarak is the managing director and group CEO of Mubadala, a $330bn sovereign wealth fund whose main shareholder is the Abu Dhabi government.

Mubarak has chaired City since 2008. In 2013, he received a Commander of the Order of the British Empire honour, partly for strengthening cultural ties between the UK and the UAE, including through the football club’s acquisition.

The investigation found that City’s owners had “concealed the true state of its finances from its auditors and football regulators” to bypass spending limits between 2008 and 2018.

City have denied the charges, rejected the findings and said they would appeal. There is no suggestion that Mubarak has engaged in wrongdoing.

The club used "sham" commercial contracts to artificially inflate revenues and reduce costs by more than $1bn, the findings showed.

"The Club’s financial statements had not been prepared and audited in accordance with applicable legal and regulatory principles," the commission wrote.

It was "reckless" and "acted other than with utmost good faith", it added.

If upheld, the findings could lead to further legal proceedings, including civil action by other Premier League clubs that believe City’s actions harmed them on the pitch.

Police could also launch a criminal investigation if they suspect a crime has occurred.

Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE’s deputy prime minister and vice president, owns the club, which he bought in September 2008 for $265m.

Under Sheikh Mansour’s ownership, City have become the dominant force in English football.

They have won eight Premier League titles, four FA Cups, seven League Cups and one Champions League in the past 15 years.

Investigations into City’s financial breaches began after German outlet Der Spiegel published leaked documents in 2018.

Emails purportedly exchanged between senior City executives showed that the club had inflated sponsorship revenue from Abu Dhabi’s state-controlled airline Etihad and telecoms firm Etisalat by disguising direct investment from Mansour’s Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG) as income.

ADUG is a prominent investor in urban regeneration.

During his tenure as Manchester mayor, current UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham praised City’s owners and their investment in the east of the city.

Burnham held his first phone call with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Sheikh Mansour’s brother, in late July as he sought to attract more investment to the UK from wealthy allies such as the UAE.