Government asked to investigate Man City owner Sheikh Mansour over Russia claims

The Government has been asked to reveal what steps it has taken to investigate whether Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour assisted wealthy Russians it has sanctioned in moving their assets to the United Arab Emirates.

Lawyers acting on behalf of a Ukrainian activist – who wishes to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals from Russia – have written to UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly to ask whether investigations have been carried out to determine whether Mansour, who is the UAE’s Deputy Prime Minister, should be identified as a ‘designated person’ subject to financial sanctions.

If Sheikh Mansour was designated as an individual subject to Government sanctions, it would disqualify him as an owner under the Premier League’s updated rules on its owners’ and directors’ test which were published in March.

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As of last week, the UK Government said more than 1,800 individuals had been sanctioned under the regulations, with more than 1,600 of those sanctioned under the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

That number includes former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich. His assets, including Chelsea, were frozen, with a consortium led by American businessman Todd Boehly taking over last summer.

The request for an update on Sheikh Mansour follows an initial letter from the lawyers, Rhys Davies of Temple Garden Chambers and Ben Keith from 5, St Andrew’s Hill Chambers, on behalf of their client which was sent to Cleverly in September last year.

The Foreign Secretary can only designate a person if he has reasonable