The Maktoums seem to be intent on purchasing Charlton but they have not given up their interest in Liverpool either.
Zabeel Investments, headed by Mohammad Ali Al Hashimi, Zabeel’s CEO who is fronting the Addicks bid but the brain trust behind Zabeel appears to be Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum who seems to have set up this company two years ago which focuses on real estate and asset management. Sheikh Hamdan is the son of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, ruler of Dubai and the founder of Dubai Holdings whose investment arm, Dubai International Capital (DIC) made a failed bid for Liverpool before it was tragically given away to two American mountebanks, Tom Hicks and George Gillett.
It appears as if the investment companies bidding for Charlton and Liverpool are separate entities that are owned by family members of the Dubai royal household which would set up a potential conflict of interest. With the FA struggling with transparency issues in club ownership and the EPL’s lax enforcement of the fit and proper test, these ownership concerns should be given more scrutiny.