IS MANCHESTER UNITED DESTINED TO BECOME JUST ANOTHER ASSET IN A TERRORIST FINANCING TOOLKIT?

As a former money launderer who has spent the last thirty years teaching the global financial community, as well as other, less-visible national players, how to catch individuals who are engaged in that illicit endeavour, I know that the most difficult financial operation to identify and interdict, in real-time, is terrorist financing. The sender can adopt an infinite number of disguises, and the recipient may only be an intermediary step en route to a global terrorist organization's operation, and once it arrives intact, it can never be retrieved. It is used forthwith to secure the weapons of war, and of abject terror.

Watching the unfolding story about the availability for sale of the football organisation Manchester United (Man United), and the efforts of the State of Qatar to acquire it, Given my experience, is extremely disturbing. I am fully aware of multiple reports of illicit payments made by, or on behalf of, Qatar, to Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) organisations, and other transnational groups that have been deemed to be or otherwise qualify as, operational terrorists.

 I have also seen information that appears to confirm that Qatar has also allegedly made a wide variety of very large payments to senior national leaders, leaders of political parties, and other Politically Exposed Persons, acting on behalf of such prominent individuals, on all sides of the political spectrum, which have the effect of suppressing vigorous suppression of such terrorist entities, by default allowing them to not only exist, but to thrive. I have a team of experts who can support all these claims, and in subsequent articles, I intend to prove up these allegations.

Given my knowledge of money laundering tradecraft, I can see an infinite number of practical ways in which Qatar can facilitate its terrorist financing operations, should it purchase the Man United organisation. Whilst prudence dictates I refrain from detailing the specific methods and tactics that will be open for exploitation, suffice it to say that for a number of reasons peculiar to international professional sports at the highest level, most of them defy detection, absent human error.

Therefore, consider this to be my very early Christmas wish: Man United owners, kindly sell your organisation to another suitor, to greatly reduce the risk that the purchaser abuses the privilege of owning one the United Kingdom's precious gems of sports for a dark and evil purpose.