Arrest warrant issued for former Manchester United bidder Thomas Zilliacus

The Singapore Police Force has issued an arrest warrant for former Manchester United takeover hopeful Thomas Zilliacus.

Zilliacus has been placed with an INTERPOL Red Notice after refusing to return to Singapore regarding charges against YuuZoo, a company where he is CEO and Executive Chairman. The warrant mentions that the company's former CEO James Somasundram was charged on Wednesday under the Securities and Futures Act.

The warrant, issued on Thursday, February 22, reads: "As part of its listing obligations, YuuZoo released quarterly financial reports. Following investigations, several of such financial reports released by YuuZoo between 2015 and 2016 are alleged to have been misleading in material particularly in that they overstated YuuZoo’s revenue by $4.6m to $18.8m."

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Somasundram faces four charges for his role in the release of these statements. If found guilty, he may be sentenced to imprisonment for a term not exceeding seven years and/or a fine not exceeding Singapore $250,000, for each charge.

As part of the investigation, Zilliacus has been alleged to have also been involved in the release of these statements along with CFO Michael Parker and Independent Directors Anthony Williams and Ozi Amanat. Unlike Parker, Williams and Amanat, Zilliacus has been handed a Red Notice which means INTERPOL are requesting another member state to locate him and execute steps to facilitate his surrender, extraditing him to Singapore.

Last year, Zilliacus had tabled a bid to purchase United. Under his plans, the Finnish businessman would purchase the entirety of the club before selling 50 per cent of it back to