I keep being asked this, so I thought I would set the record straight. Arsenal’s main shareholder Alisher Usmanov was jailed in Soviet times for blackmail. He and a colleague in the KGB attempted to blackmail another KGB officer. The KGB officer they tried to blackmail was Jewish and they seem to have felt that would make it easier to isolate him and his “roof”, or network of protective interests, would be weak. They miscalculated badly. Many believe that Usmanov was involved generally in extortion and overreached himself in this one case.
Contrary to assertions made by Usmanov’s lawyers Schillings, liars for the wealthy, Usmanov was not any kind of political prisoner. He was convicted as a straightforward criminal. He was later pardoned by Uzbek dictator President Karimov of Uzbekistan – not by Gorbachev, another Schillings lie.
Given that we’re discusssing this ghastly individual I suppose one might ask ‘why not?’ It really ought to be mandatory.
Note Arsenal’s main shareholder (with 28.58 per cent.) is now Stan Kroenke (based in the US and owner of, inter alia, a Colorado sports team).
Kroenke has secured a seat on the Board. In contrast, Arsenal have resisted appointing an Usmanov representative despite his c. 25 per cent. holding.