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With the EFL and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange investigating… is the Cambodian diplomat Wang Yaohui actually Birmingham City’s largest shareholder?
- Both the EFL and the Hong Kong Stock exchange are investigating Birmingham
- Claims that they have not properly declared who owns controlling stakes in club
- Wang Yaohui has a chequered past, including separate bribery scandals
The EFL and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange are both investigating whether Birmingham City have properly declared who owns controlling stakes in the club after claims that a Chinese businessman, Wang Yaohui, secretly owns a chunk of their stock.
Mr Wang has a chequered past, including being detained following bribery scandals involving, separately, a copper mine in Zambia and a bank in China. He was never charged, although an associate was sentenced to life in prison.
A company called Birmingham Sports Holdings Limited (BSHL), based in the Cayman Islands but listed on the HKSE, owns 75 per cent of Birmingham.
The EFL and the Hong Kong stock exchange are investigating Wang Yaohui’s involvement with Birmingham City
An investigation by the broadcaster Radio Free Asia reported that since 2017 Mr Wang has bought just over 17 per cent of BHSL’s stock, or 12.8 per cent of the club, via a British Virgin Islands firm, Dragon Villa Ltd.
RFA have unearthed an affidavit from a Taiwanese-American, Jenny Shao, who has had power of attorney for Mr Wang since 2009, saying that Dragon Villa ‘is beneficially owned by Mr Wang’.
Ms Shao is also the CEO of a Singapore private airline company, Gold Star Aviation Pte Ltd, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Dragon Villa.
Birmingham City refused to answer whether or not Wang owned a 40 per cent stake in the club
The RFA investigation further detailed how a close associate of Mr Wang, a Cambodian businessman called Vong Pech, bought 24.9 per cent of BHSL in November 2017, via a firm called Graticity Real Estate Development, from which Wang had recently resigned as a director.
The Mail on Sunday has asked Birmingham City’s hierarchy for a response to the suggestion Mr Wang may control as much as 40 per cent of BHSL’s stock via Dragon Villa and Graticity Real Estate Development. This would appear to make him the individual with the single largest shareholding.
Under EFL rules, clubs are obliged to publish the names of significant shareholders, and the EFL will now ask Birmingham to confirm what role Mr Wang plays in the club’s affairs, if any.
Clubs are obliged to publish the names of significant shareholders and the EFL will now seek clarification on the involvement of the Cambodian in the club’s affairs
An EFL spokesman said: ‘Any individuals who serve as directors of the club, or its parent company, are subject to the rules and regulations of the EFL, and are therefore responsible for ensuring that the club has complied with all obligations in relation to any changes of control and/or publication of the true identity of the ultimate beneficial owners of the club.’
If Birmingham were found to have broken the rules, the full gamut of potential punishments could be applied, from a warning for a clerical oversight to more significant punishments including a fine or points deduction for deliberate obfuscation.
There is no indication how long any investigation might take, let alone the likelihood of any punishment being meted out.
Mr Wang was born in China in 1966 but is a naturalised Cambodian citizen and a senior adviser to the Cambodian government. He has travelled on a diplomatic passport.
The Hong Kong stock exchange is investigating whether Birmingham have appropriately declared figures who own controlling stakes in the club
There is no reason, per se, that he should not be allowed to own part of Birmingham City football club, but any such ownership should be declared to the EFL, and to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. If he does own part of the club, he would be obliged to take the owners’ and directors’ test.
A spokesperson for the HKSE said on Friday: ‘The case is now under our consideration. We will look into the concerns you raise and consider, in the circumstances, what is the most appropriate regulatory action for us to take. There will be circumstances where we take no action.’
The Mail on Sunday made an additional request to Birmingham City asking that, if the board did not believe Wang owned 40 per cent of the club, an explicit denial would be helpful. The club declined to comment. Birmingham Sports Holdings Limited did not respond to questions.
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