Osama bin Bladen
Al-Qaeda terrorist’s family in £3m loan to Sheffield United
SHEFFIELD United received a £3million loan from Osama bin Laden’s family, it was claimed in the High Court yesterday.
The surprising revelation came during a bitter legal battle for control of the newly promoted Blades between co-owners Kevin McCabe and Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.
The Prince’s barrister Andreas Gledhill QC said Mr McCabe “knew the money had come from another source, namely a member of the bin Laden family”.
Mr Gledhill said: “You know that the Prince never said the loan would not have to be repaid.” Mr McCabe replied: “He said exactly that.”
Mr Gledhill also produced emails from club director Jeremy Tutton, who feared the local newspaper would run the story “Blades launder money for extremists” if the loan ever became public.
Mr McCabe dismissed this as “banter”, but Mr Gledhill claimed it confirms he knew the source of the money.
Sheffield-born Mr McCabe, 71, met Prince Abdullah, 54, in 2013 when he was looking for an investor in the Blades.
The businessman is said to have invested £100million of his own cash over 12 years.
The Saudi prince bought 50% of the club from Mr McCabe in 2013 on the proviso that he pumped £10million into it.
Mr McCabe claims he reneged on that agreement and wants the court to recognise his stewardship of the club so he can sell it after the team won promotion to the Premier League for the first time since 2007.
Sheffield United Ltd, controlled by Mr McCabe, alleges “conspiracy” and “unfairly prejudicial conduct”. Prince Abdullah’s company, UTB LLC, wants declarations in respect of its rights under an investment and shareholders’ agreement.
The trial is expected to continue for several weeks. The Saudi Binladin Group is Egypt’s largest private foreign company and recently negotiated a £35million contract with the Lebanese government to rebuild part of central Beirut. In 2009, the bin Laden family was listed as the fifth wealthiest Saudi Arabian family by
Forbes magazine, with a reported net worth of £6billion.
Osama bin Laden was disowned by his family in 1994 and killed in Abbottabad, Pakistan, in 2011 by US Navy SEALs. His son Hamza is said to be emerging as the leader of al-Qaeda, the terror group Osama founded.
The 30-year-old has been stripped of his Saudi citizenship and the US has offered a $1million bounty for help in finding him.
Sheffield United Football Club was formed in 1889 as an offshoot of Sheffield United Cricket Club.
The team are nicknamed The Blades because of Sheffield’s history of steel production. Celebrity supporters include actor Sean Bean, Olympic gold medallist Jessica Ennis-Hill and cricketer Joe Root.