Tottenham Hotspur have refused to comment after their billionaire owner Joe Lewis was left facing charges of insider trading in the USA.
The 86-year-old has been accused of ‘classic corporate corruption’ by US Attorney Damian Williams, alleging he has passed on sensitive information to ‘friends and romantic partners’ who used the knowledge to make stock trades and millions of dollars.
He was charged with 16 counts of securities fraud and three counts of conspiracy, for alleged crimes spanning from 2013 to 2021.
In a video posted to social media on Tuesday, Williams said: “Today I’m announcing that my office, the southern district of New York has indicted Joe Lewis, the British billionaire, for orchestrating a brazen insider trading scheme.
“We allege that for years Joe Lewis abused access to corporate board rooms and repeatedly provided inside information to his romantic partners, his personal assistants, his pilots and his friends.
‘Those folks then traded on that inside information and made millions of dollars on the stock market. Thanks to Lewis those bets were a sure thing.
“None of this was necessary. Joe Lewis is a wealthy man, but as we allege he used insider information to compensate his employees, or to shower gifts on his friends and lovers.
“That’s classic corporate corruption. It’s cheating and it’s against the law.”
(Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)
Tottenham provide a response to Joe Lewis’ indictment on insider trading charges
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club were contacted by Sky News for comment on Lewis’ indictment, to which they replied: “This is a legal matter unconnected with the club and as such we have no comment.”
Mr Lewis is reported to be one of Britain’s richest men. He owns hundreds of assets, including Premier League London club Tottenham Hotspur which he bought from Sir Alan Sugar in 2001 for £22m.
He also owns a stake in UK pub chain Mitchells & Butlers and was ranked 39th in the 2023 Sunday Times Rich List, with an estimated worth of more than £5bn.
SpursWeb Opinion
Whether or not Lewis’ indictment is unconnected to Tottenham Hotspur, it still provides unnecessary media attention to the club when there is already enough spotlight on Harry Kane’s future.
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