Hong Kong trading in Birmingham City holdings company suspended after online tirade by director
Trading in HK-listed holdings company for Birmingham City FC suspended following tirade on supporters' website by director
Trading in the Hong Kong-listed Birmingham International, the company that controls Birmingham City Football Club in Britain, was halted yesterday following an online tirade by the club's director, Hong Kong businessman Peter Pannu.
Pannu, right-hand man of the club's former boss and convicted money launderer Carson Yeung Ka-sing, stoked controversy this week after suggesting the soccer club could run out of money by next month because of a £1.8 million (HK$21.8 million) tax bill.
Pannu's rants, in web postings running to more than 1,000 words, also suggested attempts to sell the club had failed and that it would be "forever" stuck with the embattled Hong Kong-registered holdings company.
The posts sparked concern among fans and investors and prompted the club on Wednesday to put out an official statement categorically refuting the bankruptcy allegations made by Pannu, a former Hong Kong policeman.
However, Birmingham International announced yesterday that its shares were suspended at 10.21am "pending the release of a clarification announcement of the company".
According to sources close to the matter, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing has been in close contact with the company following Pannu's remarks.
He did not respond to a request for comment from the .
Until his conviction in March, hairdresser turned multimillionaire Yeung headed up the English soccer club and Hong Kong holdings company. He was sentenced to six years in jail for laundering HK$721 million.
But soccer fans fear the felon continues to exert influence over the club - a concern compounded by Pannu's remarks, which also suggested Yeung had discussed its potential sale with the board of the holdings company.
On Wednesday, a leading Birmingham City FC fans group, the Blues Trust, wrote to the Football League in England demanding the authority uphold its regulations barring Yeung's involvement with the club.
Pannu made the controversial comments in two posts on Often Partisan, a Blues supporters' website curated by Daniel Ivery, who co-authored , a book charting the life and crimes of Yeung.
In his messages, Pannu appeared to threaten Ivery with legal action over the recently published book.
"I can assure you that your book will receive some High Court attention in HK from Carson [and] me," one post read.
A further post purporting to be from Pannu - and which Ivery believes is genuine - used vulgar language to warn the author about visiting Hong Kong.
Ivery said he first felt "more surprised than threatened" by the remarks.
"This is a man who is managing director and chief executive officer of a Hong Kong-listed company," he said. "I couldn't believe he would make those kinds of threats in public.
"He's got every right to criticise my work and I accept that, but to threaten my personal safety is across the line."
