Friday 31 July 2009

UN Probe Al Fahim's organisation

Following our article yesterday on Al Fahim's 'ambassador' role and the IIMSAM organisation, Matt Scott at the Guardian has today picked up the story:

Although Diego Maradona has somehow managed to resist the lure of Fratton Park in favour of remaining Argentina's coach, that does not stop Sulaiman al-Fahim, who is supposedly taking over Portsmouth, from being very close to another eminent Maradona.

Indeed, perhaps his link with the lesser-known Maradona is what led to the confusion at his favoured media outlet, arabianbusiness.com, which purports him to be a "UN ambassador", a claim that has been cheerfully trotted out in several media reports in this country.

Fahim is in fact a "goodwill ambassador" to IIMSAM, a campaign to solve the world's food crisis by feeding algae to the malnourished, and which six years ago was accorded observer status at the United Nations economic and social council.

IIMSAM's director-general is "His Excellency" Remigio Martín Maradona, who, according to its website, previously represented Vanuatu at the UN. But there have been suspicions at the UN that Maradona's IIMSAM has been seeking to take advantage of its status. One UN source said its legal department has been looking into how he and IIMSAM have used the UN name and logo to see if there had been any wrongdoing. If it finds there has, it will present the case to member states to determine what action to take.

IIMSAM's Manish Upraty confirmed it has been in dialogue with the UN's legal department. "But we have received no complaints from the UN; it goes back and forth and at the moment it's fine," he said. Still, with Fahim having such close links to one so esteemed it is easy to see how so many media reports could have mistaken the new Pompey chairman for a UN ambassador.

Guardian 31 July

Thursday 30 July 2009

'Ambassador' role confusion

Journalists continue to get confused over Al Fahim's 'Ambassador' role and he is often described as a 'UN Goodwill Ambassador'.

His PR spokesman and good friend Anil Bhoyrul even described Al Fahim as a 'UN Goodwill Ambassador' in his global Maradonna 'Exclusive' for Arabianbusiness.com.

However as with many Al Fahim stories, all is not as first appears.

Al Fahim has links with Diego Maradonna's cousin who runs an organisation called IIMSAM. IIMSAM promotes the use of a type of algae as foodstuff. IIMSAM is not part of the UN. IIMSAM believes that algae can be a useful foodstuff an can help areas where there is malnutrition. In the 70's the UN said it believed algae could be a wonder food; however IIMSAM is certainly not part of the UN. Questions have also been raised of the the rather meagre achievements of the IIMSAM organisation.

Al Fahim was given the title of 'Goodwill Ambassador' for IIMSAM. This title often confuses people who are led to believe that he is actually linked to the UN (which of course he isn't). It is also unfortunate that IIMSAM use such deliberately misleading titles for its affiliates.

Bhoyrul also continues to peddle the myth that Al Fahim is a 'Doctor'. One can only guess at why one of Al Fahim's 'personal friends' should choose to misrepresent Al Fahim's role and position in this way.

Bhoyrul's misrepresentation

Wednesday 29 July 2009

Al Fahim's 'delayed' development

Channel 4 journalist John Sparks has filed a news report on the property development disasters within UAE. His report focusses on the misrepresentation and alledged deception carried out by a number of large companies on Dubai. The article is not about Hydra but the issues highlighted also provide an excellent summary of many of the issues and approach adopted by Al Fahim's Hydra company based in Abu Dhabi.

At Hydra, Al Fahim misrepresented his capabilities and claimed to property purchasers that he had a 'Doctorate in Real Estate Investment'. This, of course, was misleading and entirely ficticious.

Channel 4 News

Monday 27 July 2009

Takeover Completion 'by end of week'

Al Fahim anticipates that the takeover of Portmsouth FC will be fully completed 'by the end of the week'. Last week Al Fahim committed himself to the takeover. With the Premier League expected to complete their 'Fit and Proper Persons Test' shortly, Al Fahim is all set to complete the takeover once the FAPL have satisfied themselves on the source of the funds.

In the face of a challenge from people who had purchased property in the Hydra Village project, the FA Premier League has been fully investigating whether Al Fahim meets the The 'Fit and Proper Persons Test' criteria. With the development classified as 'delayed and ongoing', Al Fahim is set to pass the tests.

Sunday 26 July 2009

'Meet the Fans Sessions' arranged

Al Fahim has finalised the details of the first 'Fans Session' whereby the new owner will meet supporters. Al Fahim is keen to build a relationship with fans and the first meeting is arranged for Friday 14 August - the day before the season opener against Fulham.

The next session is due to take place on Friday 28 August and looks like being an interesting meeting. Portsmouth will then have three games under their belt and the Transfer Window will close just 3 days later.

The game on Sunday 30th August will be a high-profile game for Al Fahim as it will give the Arab world a chance to compare the fortunes of the two UAE-owned clubs.

Details of the attendee process for the Fans Sessions are yet to be finalised by the club.

Saturday 25 July 2009

A story too far for Al Fahim

This week's 'Maradonna and Eto are coming to Portsmouth' story has seemingly backfired on Al Fahim's PR spin doctor Anil Bhoyrul.

Up until this week, Al Fahim had made good use of his close 'business' relationship with Arabianbusiness.com writer Anil Bhoyrul. Al Fahim feeds the stories to Bhoyrul and Bhoyrul is able to label the stories as 'Exclusives'. Consequently the seemingly independent journalist has been able to heighten his profile (and maximise his income).

However it looks like Al Fahim has pushed the relationship too far by asking that Bhoyrul publish the Maradonna exclusive. This story was widely regarded as 'implausible at best' by established journalists. Bhoyrul must have regrets about publishing this latest story.


Thursday 23 July 2009

Al Fahim's TV show scrapped

Al Fahim's TV show 'Hydra Executives, Season 2' has been controversially scrapped despite a whole season of 24 episodes sitting in 'post production'. The series was shot at great expense last year and was due to be screened later in the Autumn.

Hydra Executives is the UAE version of The Apprentice. The lavish show is funded entirely by Hydra Properties and is a piece of corporate advertising on an unprecedented scale. The first series was broadcast earlier this year.

The decision to scrap the expensive series follows Al Fahim's replacement by Ali bin Sulayem as CEO at Hydra. Bin Sulayem is working hard to repair the damage done to the company's reputation by Al Fahim. The decision is part of a move by Bin Sulayem and owners Royalgroup to distance themselves from the failures of Al Fahim's tenure.

The 24 completed episodes that comprise Series 2 will now not be broadcast and will ultimately be destroyed.

Al Fahim is central to the programme in a kind of Alan Sugar/Donald Trump role.The TV show was commissioned to promote both Al Fahim and Hydra and incensed people who had actually purchased property in the troubled Hydra Village development(currently two years behind plan).

The news is a described as a 'set-back' Al Fahim, who enjoyed the limelight that the TV show attracted.

Episode 1 of Series 1

Wednesday 22 July 2009

Portsmouth 'takeover' not all it seems

The 'takeover' at Portsmouth has generated many column inches and the saga looks set to continue. It has emerged that the takeover is considerably more complicated than it first appeared. As we first reported on 9 July, Gaydamak was seeking a clean financial break with the club as he was notable to finance the club's ongoing loss-making (running at £2m a month as recently as May this year).

Gaydamak was hoping the new owner would take over all his existing debt and pay him a premium for ownership of the Premiership club. However, as regular readers will be aware, Al Fahim's wealth was not nearly significant as it first appeared. When it became clear that Gaydamak would not be ableto walk away free from Portsmouth's debt, the takeover talks stalled - as we first reported, the sticking point was:

Gaydamak's desire to have all debts repaid and to achieve a financial 'clean break' from the club.

Faced with impending Administration, Gaydamak agreed to a settlement that enabled him to receive the proceeds of the recent player-sales and a percentage of the Sky TV payments (this will include proceeds from the forthcoming sale of Peter Crouch). This settlement leaves Gaydamak with continued responsibility for a significant portion of the club's debt. Al Fahim has effectively purchased equity in the club for a nominal amount. Al Fahim now has a controlling interest in the club, but crucially he will be liable for the ongoing costs (and any debt) accumulated after the date of the takeover.

For Gaydamak, the position is uncomfortable but palatable - his debts cannot increase and he has received a pay-off for a portion of his debts. Al Fahim has achieved his goal of becoming a high-profile 'owner' of a Premiership club for the minimum initial outlay. However, Al Fahim has had to make key concessions and Gaydamak has insisted that he remain on the board so that he can have a level of protection over his debts.

Al Fahim has assumed responsibility for ongoing running costs and any new player purchases.

Tuesday 21 July 2009

Congratulations to Portsmouth Fans

We would like to extend our congratulations to long-suffering Portsmouth FC fans. The grand old club has avoided administration and that is cause for celebration. Although we believe the road ahead will be rocky with Al Fahim at the healm, we wish you well.

Al Fahim 'Fast-tracked' by Premier League

Details are emerging about the circumstances of Al Fahim's takeover of Portsmouth FC and the controversial role of the Premier League.

Earlier this week, Portsmouth were staring into the abyss of Administration, with Standard Bank about to call-in their £36m debt from the club. With the new Premier League's Fit And Proper Person Test progressing to scheduled conclusion next week, the Premier League's timescales looked all wrong for Portsmouth.

Al Fahim and Portsmouth made an approach to the Premier League and outlined that the deal needed to be wrapped up by the 24th July or the club would be administration. Initially the Premier League advised that they would not be able to complete the investigation by Friday.

However, fearing the embarrassment of Administration for one of its members and wary of a backlash by angry Portsmouth supporters, the Premier League decided to 'fast track' Al Fahim. Despite the fact that the FAPPT invesigations are ongoing and will not be completed until next week, the Premier League gave the green light in the following, carefully worded statement:

"The Premier League can confirm that Mr. Al Fahim has submitted all the documentation required to satisfy our Fit and Proper Persons Test.‪

"Based on the information provided the League has found no reason why Mr. Al Fahim would be liable to be disqualified as a Director of a Premier League club.''‪

Critics of the Premier League will maintain that their tough new stance has been undermined by their approval of Al Fahim before they have concluded their investigations.

Leap of Faith required by Al Fahim

Standard Bank have demanded repayment of their outstanding £36m loans by Friday 24 July. Senior staff at the club are aware that the club face Administration this week if the sale does not go ahead. Despite Al Fahim's requests to the FA Premier League, the Fit And Proper Persons test is not due to be completed until the following week. This leaves Al Fahim in a dilemma.

A Leap of Faith is required by Al Fahim to purchase Portsmouth FC in advance of the Fit and Proper Persons completion. Al Fahim would instantly become responsible Portsmouth's debts but would not be able to sign any new players until the Premier League complete their investigations and given him the green light.

Al Fahim has personally made a request to the Premier League to conclude the deal to the new pressing timescale, but they are so-far unwilling to rush the investigations through.

Monday 20 July 2009

Good luck required by Al Fahim

As first revealed in this Blog, Al Fahim has been struggling to pull together the funds to purchase Portsmouth FC and a provide a suitable transfer pot. The new Fit and Proper Persons test is expected to be overcome by Al Fahim - however as we previously reported, the FAPPT requirements have scared off his co-investors.

Al Fahim has faced a race against time to put a suitable package in place but believes he has the funds to purchase the club and just keep it out of the bottom three. He privately acknowledges that he requires some good luck to pull this off.

Al Fahim is aware that he is not able to fund the club himself long-term and requires further investors to subsidise the running of the club in a meaningful way. He hopes that he can attract some additional investment but acknowledges that this will only happen once he owns the club and the club are performing well.

What did happen at Hydra?

We have attached a summary of what happened with Hydra and Al Fahim's role in the project.

Hydra was started in 2006 when Al Fahim convinced the Royalgroup (owned bythe UAE Royal Family) to back his property development vision.Hydra Village was the flagship first development and was to have build2,500 houses and apartments. For such attractive looking properties thepurchase price was low - this combined with the huge PR effort, meant themost of the properties were popular. However all purchases were done 'offplan', i.e. people were purchasing property before building had even commenced.

The PR efforts for Hydra Village were very impressive. Once the deposits(usually 20% of the final price) started rolling in, the marketing spendincreased. Hydra even produced its own TV series (Hydra Executives based onThe Apprentice format). The budget to produce this TV programme came out ofthe deposits from the houses.

Hydra were puffed up with their own success and decided to launch otherdevelopments. The funds to commence these new ventures was also taken fromthe deposits from Hydra Village purchasers - consequently development ofHydra Village fell behind schedule. Then came the credit crunch anddeposits for the new ventures started to dry up.

The Hydra Village purchasers began to get really concerned as it becameapparent that the development on the Hydra Village site was behind schedule(to say the least). Pictures began to circulate and purchasers began to getvery nervous.

Throughout all this, Al Fahim kept assuring his customers that everythingwas on track and that Hydra was a massive success. Many of his customersnow believe his statements were knowingly untruthful. They are also angrythat their deposits were used to support other ventures and for marketing,rather than being entirely spent on building their homes.

With development at a virtual standstill, Hydra contacted their HydraVillage customers with demands for the next payment installment. Hydra tookthe astonishing step of notifying many of their customers that they had'increased the size house/apartment'. The impact of this was that, inaddition to having to pay the next installment, many were being asked forextra money to pay for a bigger house that they had not asked for. Withmany customers seemingly unwilling to pay their further installment, Hydraadvised that non-payers would face significant financial penalties.

To make matters worse, many of the promised facilities (hotel, sports centre, green areas) were all scrapped as the company re-planned the development.

Hydra maintains that it has been the victim of the global collapse inproperty prices and that many Hydra Village purchasers were speculators whohave since been unable to pay their property installments. Hydra maintainthat the default of the speculators has caused many of the current problemsfor the customers who simply wanted a home to live in.

Although Hydra has intimated that it is willing to accept deferral of someof the next installments due on the properties, over 400 people arecurrently believed to be pressing ahead with a legal action against Hydra. The removal of Al Fahim from his CEO role appears to have helped move this forward but he still remains on the Board.The development is around two years behind schedule.

Sunday 19 July 2009

Fit and Proper Person Test challenge

The FA Premier League have been inundated with 'hundreds of letters' from people who have purchased houses from Hydra. The house purchasers bought the property 'off plan' (i.e. before the houses were built). The development is two years behind schedule and the challenge for the FA Premier League is to ensure that Al Fahim can pass the new FAPPT when so many people believe they have been materially mislead by Al Fahim personally and the company he ran.

Saturday 18 July 2009

Embarrasment for Hydra

Al Fahim's continued presence on the Board of Hydra is starting to give cause for concern. Following his much-publicised 'promotion' to the Board, new CEO Ali bin Sulayem has been tasked with sorting out the mess by the owners Royalgroup. Royalgroup are owned by the UAE Royal Family and their support and patronage is the key to business sucess in UAE.

The new CEO has wasted little time advising Royalgroup's owners of the cause of the problems with the finger of blame being firmly pointed at Al Fahim.

Al Fahim continues to be an embarrassment to Hydra who need to move on and placate angry investors. With Hydra investors now about to take Hydra to court over the debacle, Royalgroup are highly embarrassed. It has been suggested that Royalgroup may discharge Al Fahim and apply much of the blame to him.

If this happens then Al Fahim's business opportunities in UAE will be severely limited.

Friday 17 July 2009

Al Fahim's Personal Wealth

One of the questions we are often asked is 'How rich is Al Fahim'? Of course, the exact figure is closely guarded but recently two interesting pieces of information became available.

Firstly, Al Fahim failed to make the list of 50 Richest Arabs produced by the respected Arabian Business. The 'poorest' person on this list has £1.1bn (£671m) of personal wealth.

Secondly, information about the size of Hydra was issued.

Al Fahim's wealth comes almost exclusively from Hydra. His rise from an unknown to an influential figurehead at Hydra was quite astounding. He had few business interests prior to the creation of Hydra in 2006. Al Fahim's coup was his ability to convince the Royal Group (owned by the UAE Royal Family) to invest in his property vision. Royal own 100 per cent of the shares in Hydra - Al Fahim receives a salary and a bonus (based on performance and project completion). The size of Hydra's book has also remained somewhat guarded until a recent Press Release, sanctioned by Al Fahim, was released.

An IIMSAM Press Release on 1 July confirmed that Hydra had managed to accumulate total projects worth $2bn. This is a huge amount considering the the Hydra business started from scratch in 2006. How much of this $2bn will have been received by Al Fahim is a subject of conjecture. However, it is understood Hydra's business plan has a projected 30 per cent profit margin for its developments. Royal Group would have been set to make $600m profit from Hydra (£366m) on completion of all projects.

However, Hydra's struggles are well documented and not a single development has been fully completed. To date no 'completion bonuses' have not yet been paid to Hydra employees.

Al Fahim's personal wealth is unclear - however despite his personal trappings of dripping wealth, it Al Fahim's personal wealth is not all it appears.

Thursday 16 July 2009

Hands-on Al Fahim

Al Fahim is expected to play a very 'hands-on' role when he finally becomes owner of Portsmouth FC. Al Fahim is a keen football enthusiast and has expressed his willingness to help play an integral role on and off the pitch. Al Fahim is looking forward to working with the manager, and will contribute views on team selection and team recruitment.

Wednesday 15 July 2009

Portsmouth takeover details emerge

Further information has emerged about the terms of the Portsmouth FC takeover. It appears that despite his best efforts, Al Fahim was not able to convince co-investors to join him in the purchase of the deal - the new FAPL rules which required all investors to be named did not help Al Fahim pull the funding together. Al Fahim was apparently very keen to be the owner of the football club and but was not able to bid the original proposed amount for the club. There would also have been some serious loss of face for Al Fahim if he had pulled out (coming on the back of his recent removal from his role of Hydra CEO).

With Sacha Gaydamak (the Portsmouth owner) keen to ensure the club paid back the money he had loaned it and Al Fahim not able to pay the original price, the deal looked to have floundered. However a way forward has been found which enables Al Fahim to pay a considerably reduced amount for the club and Gaydamak to receive most of the money he is owed via the sale of players.

It is understood that Gaydamak will also receive a portion of the money coming the club from Sky TV in September.

Al Fahim has managed to buy the club but has considerably stretched his financial capabilities. Portsmouth fans should not expect any expensive signings as Al Fahim tries to keep the club in the Premiership on a very limited budget.

Tuesday 14 July 2009

PR machine in overdrive

Al Fahim knows the importance of PR and a new Press Release dedicated to the businessman has just been released by IIMSAM - the organisation that promotes a type of algae (spirulina) as a foodstuff. IIMSAM is run by Diego Maradonna's cousin and certainly likes to talk up its rather sparse achievements.

There are a few nuggets of information amongst the gushing text:

With the financial supports of IIMSAM’s Ambassador at-large Sulaiman Al-Fahim, IIMSAM was able to distribute soccer shoes, balls, goalkeeper gloves and pumps to various teams under the initiated Camp Maradona Programm.

IIMSAM’s headquarters in Kisumu feeds about 300 people daily who are served with Spirulina mixed porridge.

Given the number of people who have attached themselves to this organisation, the achievement of producing porridge for 'about 300 people' seems rather meagre. Likewise, Al Fahim's gift of a few goalkeeping gloves hardly seems to merit a Press Release.

http://www.pr-inside.com/iimsam-attains-new-height-with-dr-r1389600.htm

Keeping promises is a way of life

Last year, Al Fahim issued a wonderful Press Release where he outlined his values. The PR related to the news that '40% of the Pillar Work was complete at the Hydra Waves development in Mexico:

'Keeping promises is a way of life for us at Hydra Properties. We remain committed to quality as well as the timeline. I'm aware that real estate world is keenly watching the astounding progress of our premier project in Mazatlan. Hydra Properties has not only met the project's various goals so far, but in the process set new benchmarks for excellence.'

It must be a great disapointment to Hydra and Al Fahim personally to see that the Hydra Waves development has stalled and does not even appear as a 'development' on the Hydra website. We must have missed that Press Release!

http://www.ameinfo.com/162535.html

Monday 13 July 2009

Purchase Price 'impasse'

Conscious of the need to move more quickly with the takeover, Al Fahim and his co-backers have submitted paperwork to the Premier League for their 'Fit and Proper Person test'. However we understand that the deal remains in a deadlock over the purchase price and that the purchase continues to be at an 'impasse'. Further meetings are scheduled for later this week to see if a way forward can be agreed.

With Sacha Gaydamak not able to fund the ongoing debt of the club, Al Fahim believes he holds all the cards.

Al Fahim Asia Associates

The takeover of Portsmouth FC is being carried out by 'Al Fahim Asia Associates'. This is a company that was created specially by Al Fahim for the proposed purpose of acquiring the football club. As with all similar holding companies, Al Fahim is personally protected from the more serious implications of any financial failure. However it can make it harder for the holding company to borrow money without financial guarantees from they key shareholders. This kind of structure also facilitates the involvement of multiple owners for Portsmouth (as shareholders) and, although it is understood that Al Fahim is working with associates, their names remain closely guarded.

Saturday 11 July 2009

Mancini deal was never on the cards

Al Fahim's discussions with former Inter manager Mancini have certainly increased his profile in Italy. However we understand from correspondent Phil Reynolds that Al Fahim will not be progressing with Mancini. Mancini's demands include a £30m transfer budget in addition to compensation for the loss of his £10m serverence pay (received from Inter, which he would lose if he joined Portsmouth FC). These sums are significantly over the budget for Al Fahim.

Much of this information was already in the public domain and some close to the club wondered why a meeting actually took place. However Al Fahim is keen to be seen as 'player' in world football and the meeting was felt to be good for his 'profile'.

Thursday 9 July 2009

Sticking points for takeover

More information is emerging about sticking points of the Portsmouth FC takeover by Al Fahim. Following the review of the accounts the £60m price tag is under review with the main focus believed to be on two key areas:

The responsiblity for the repayment of £36 million debt to Standard Bank - due in two instalments, on Aug 31 and Sept 12.

Gaydamak's desire to have all debts repaid and to achieve a financial 'clean break' from the club.

Price discussion continues

As first reported here on Tuesday the discussion on the price of the takeover continues. The Star reported today:
"Al-Fahim, Pompey owner Sacha Gaydamak and Storrie remain locked in discussions, but accountants for al-Fahim believe Pompey have over-valued their squad, with their only other assets being the land around Fratton Park and a plot in Lee-on-the-Solent that is intended for a new training ground.A source close to al-Fahim said: “There is still a desire to buy Portsmouth but not if it results in a substantial loss.”

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/football/view/88246/Wanted-Man/

Tuesday 7 July 2009

£60m purchase price too high?

With the review of the books of Portsmouth FC now complete, questions over the purchase price have been raised. Sources advise that the £60m price tag is causing concern. Al Fahim co-investors are yet to be convinced that that the club represents good value at that price. Al Fahim remains keen but needs to bring his colleagues with him to make this happen.

Sunday 5 July 2009

Brochure seeking backing

Reports from UAE are that Al Fahim has been touting round his plans for Portsmouth to try to get backers to come into the bid. A lavish brochure that outlines his plans has been produced and he has apparently been calling his contacts to try to make the bid happen. There appears to be some urgency around the activity. Whether he can find someone willing to back his bid for loss-making Portsmouth remains to be seen but the clock is clearly ticking.

Friday 3 July 2009

Cut-price promotion

Al Fahim has certainly been successful in raising his profile and that of Hydra. However once Al Fahim's property ventures started to unravel, his employers were faced with a difficult challenge; how to sack their figurehead without undermining Hydra's image? They took the age-old way out and 'moved him upstairs' to the Board and dressed it up as a 'promotion'. Everyone's a winner, well, apart from Al Fahim if the rumours of a significant pay-cut are to be believed!

Thursday 2 July 2009

Hydra Village 'nearing completion'

Al Fahim was the founder and CEO of Hydra Properties until he was 'moved upstairs' by the owners Royal Group in June 2009. The troubles of the company's flagship development Hydra Village are well documented and the development is still well behind plan. Many investors worry that they have wasted their money on something they fear will never be completed. Throughout all this Al Fahim has been there to put positive spin on the position.

Hydra Village investors bought 'off plan' and started to monitor progress (or lack of progress) very closely. They even took arial pictures of the 'work'. The one above was taken on 22 Oct 2008 and caused real concern:

Al Fahim responded in February with one of his finest press releases:

Hydra Properties, the leading UAE-based international property developer, has achieved yet another milestone by announcing that it will be handing out units in one of its most anticipated community developments, Hydra Village Abu Dhabi, in the second quarter of 2009 as it completes the Phase I stage of the mega-project. Commenting on the swift progress of the Hydra Village Abu Dhabi project, Dr. Sulaiman Al Fahim, Chief Executive Officer, Hydra Properties said, “We are proud to announce that we will be delivering units in Hydra Village Abu Dhabi very soon so our clients can experience the quality and sophistication that only Hydra Properties can provide. We treat completing the project on time with as much regard as our customers do, and it is as much an achievement for us as it is a great convenience for them.”

Fantastic stuff (quite literally). Al Fahim's bosses must have been surprised when he saw the picture on the left (taken of the same site on 13 May 2009).

The new Abramovich?

During the Manchester City takeover, Al Fahim was quoted in the press as saying he was 'the new Abramovich'. This was a little harsh on Al Fahim and he was actually misquoted - he simply promised City would spend on a comparable level to Chelsea. Subsequent events have shown he was as good as his word. Al Fahim was, of course, removed as frontman for the bid when he appeared to be enjoying the limelight a little too much.

Although Al Fahim makes some bizarre statements, even he would have stopped short of comparing himself to Abramovich. Al Fahim's personal spending power isn't a fraction of the Russian's. Whilst Abramovich is with around $8.4bn, Al Fahim's personal wealth is estimated at a 'trifling' $63m.

Who is buying Portsmouth FC?

There has been much speculation about who is actually buying Portsmouth. The only way to clear this up is to rely on the statements of Al Fahim himself. When the news broke at the end of May he gave an exclusive interview to the arabianbusiness.com. In it he said:

However, let me be very clear in saying that my involvement in Portsmouth has nothing to do with Hydra. The money for the Portsmouth FC acquisition and the needed future investment has been raised through the network of Falcon Equity from Asian and Middle Eastern investors. None of these investors are from the real estate sector or part of a royal family.

http://www.arabianbusiness.com/557045

There have been subsequent statements suggesting he will go-it-alone but our understanding is that Al Fahim is indeed working to pull together a 'network of investors'.

Why does Al Fahim love algae? (part one)

There has been some speculation over why Al Fahim has attached himself to the IIMSAM algae organisation. Other than to set up some football schools in Kenya, the organisation has yet to deliver anything tangible. Some have questioned the merits of the algae (spirulina) but few can question that ending malnutition is anything but a good thing.

IIMSAM issue a large number of press releases, many of which are rather, er, odd. We like this one the best:

His Excellency Remigio Martin Maradona [Diego's cousin] said that Microalgae Spirulina has a lot of organic materials that can be helpful to protect from the fatal Swine flu.

We're off to lick some lichen!

The Obama Connection

Everyone wants to be connected to Barack Obama these days and Al Fahim clearly has a plan to help link him to the most powerful man in the world.

Under the banner of IIMSAM (the algae organisation - see below), Al Fahim is cultivating a relationship with Obama's grandmother (who lives in Kenya). She as been made a 'Goodwill Ambassador' for IIMSAM. IIMSAM is not part of the UN but likes giving its people this UN-sounding title. It is unclear if Obama's grandmother was paid for linking herself to this organisation.

So keen was Al Fahim to get her involved and leverage the kudos that the name Obama brings that he even offered to pay for her to go to Mecca. Al Fahim explained:

“I have a wife but not a mother so she (Mama Sarah Obama) can take that place and join us to the Hajj,” he said after paying a courtesy call on Mama Sarah at her Kogelo Village home.

It is no known if she took up the offer of a surrogate son - if so, does that make Al Fahim into Obama's brother?

Maradonna's cousin is shown on the left - he is the lead figure in IIMSAM. It looks like he was right about that nutritious algae!

Trust me I'm a Doctor

By now most people are aware that Dr Al Fahim isn't actually a Doctor. So how did this confusion come about?

On 14 June, the Observer seemed to have cleared it all up:
Last week Ilic Gabara contacted the Observer and said: "He does not have the title of doctor. He does not call himself a doctor, no. Others may have misconstrued his dual MBA into a doctor's title. But not him." The ­American University in Washington DC, where he studied, does not award doctorates.

So, it was a mistake of others and Al Fahim did not intend to make false claims.

It is therefore interesting to read the claim that still appears on the Hydra Properties website:
http://www.hydraproperties.com/contents/?id=11

H.E. Al Fahim received his PhD in Real Estate investment and an MBA in Finance and Real Estate from Kogod School of Business from the American University in Washington DC ...

Possibly more interesting though is the opening three second shot of Hydra Executives. He is clearly shown signing his name as 'Dr' Sulaiman Al Fahim.

One is left to wonder why Al Fahim did not spot the error.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrdTdWHfMLc

$100,000 Dollar Donation

The winner of 'Hydra Executives' won $1m. However, how much he eventually gets to spend is anyone's guess.

Winner Richard Best has announced he has given a cool $100k to IIMSAM (see earlier post). Now why would he give so much to an organisation that he had never heard of a few months ago and which promotes the production of, er, algae? Well according to Best, he was introduced to the organisation by Dr Al Fahim and now feels he simply must give them a large wad.

Of course it helps that he will now be working with Al Fahim and that such a donation will 'oil the wheels'. In return Best has also been given a rather dubious 'award' from another non-UN organisation (similar to IIMSAM) called IREO. We don't know much about IREO but again Al Fahim is involved. Again IREO could easily be mistaken for a UN organisation. Interestingly the website seems to have been created by the same people who crafted the IIMSAM website. Is there a reason why Al Fahim attaches himself these UN-sounding organisations? Check out the story and links:
http://www.pr-inside.com/architect-richard-best-donates-100-000-to-r1359439.htm

Hydra Executives - UAE's 'The Apprentice'

Al Fahim appears in the Alan Sugar/Donald Trump role in 'Hydra Executives'. This programme is broadly based on 'The Apprentice' and people compete for a role working with Al Fahim at Hydra.

However, whereas 'The Apprentice' is produced using the BBC's money (in the UK), Hydra Executives is funded entirely by the Real Estate company Hydra. Many of Hydra's customers (those that have purchased property 'off plan' from Hydra) are apparently unhappy. Their properties are late (to say the least) and see Al Fahim spending hundreds of thousands on this piece of blatent self-publicity.

He doesn’t dismiss the suggestion that Hydra customers money has been used to fund his TV show “The Hydra Executives”, pointing out that “like any company Hydra has a marketing budget, and the marketing mix between print and other media campaigns included the TV series.”

And it isn't as if it is any good. It is a hard watch and didn't 'Impress Me' very much. Have a look at the first episode:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrdTdWHfMLc

UN 'Goodwill Ambassador'

Many of Al Fahim's aides often claim that Al Fahim is a UN 'Goodwill Ambassador'. However this is wide of the mark. Al Fahim has links with Diego Maradonna's cousin who runs an organisation called IIMSAM. IIMSAM promotes the use of a type of algae as foodstuff. IIMSAM is not part of the UN.

IIMSAM believes that aglae can be a useful foodstuff an can help areas where there is malnutrition. In the 70's the UN said it believed algae could be a wonder food but IIMSAM is certainly not part of the UN. It is not clear if the algae offers a practical solution to malnutrition as large quantities of water are required to produce it.

Al Fahim was given the title of 'Goodwill Ambassador' for IIMSAM. It is very unfortunate that this title often confuses people and they think he is actually linked to the UN. He isn't! It is also unfortunate that IIMSAM use such misleading titles!

Dr Al Fahim

This Blog has been set up to follow the interesting world of Sulaiman Al Fahim.

Dr Al Fahim is in the process of purchasing Portsmouth Football Club and is one of the Arab world's most 'interesting' characters.