Paul Conway and Chien Lee, former directors of Barnsley Football Club, have been fined for failing to disclose the full details of their proposed ownership structure when applying to acquire the Club in 2017. The fines have been imposed after a full hearing before an independent Disciplinary Commission. The Commission found that Mr. Conway and Mr. Lee failed to properly disclose a private investment agreement they concluded shortly prior to their purchase of Barnsley in 2017. That Agreement was not disclosed to the League until January 2022. This action follows a previous investigation into matters by the League, which resulted in the Club being charged with various breaches of EFL Regulations said to have been caused by Mr. Conway and Mr. Lee, who also received charges. The Club accepted the charges issued against it, and the League entered into an approved decision on 4 July 2024, with no further action to be taken against the Club, other than contributing to the League’s legal costs of the proceedings. It was acknowledged that the Club co-operated throughout and promptly notified the League upon its discovery of the investment agreement in 2022. The Commission found that it was the actions and/or omissions of Mr. Conway and Mr. Lee which caused the Club to breach its obligations to the League. Alongside the financial penalties of £100,000 for Mr. Conway and £75,000 for Mr. Lee, both were warned as to their future conduct. The sanctions demonstrate the critical importance of the League being provided with the information it needs to determine the suitability of Owners’ and Directors’, as well as those who seek to control and manage the affairs of the Club, and the financial viability of a proposed acquisition. The Commission’s decision can be viewed here. Continue reading...
Glad to be able to draw a line under this now! Wonder how much the court fees cost that we had to cover.
The only part that confuses me is "On 2 January 2022, an Undisclosed Shareholder (Mr Samuelson) sent an email to Mr Conway, copying in the other Undisclosed Shareholders and Mr Lee, formally requesting that Mr Conway “transfer and register our shares imediately”. Mr Samuelson subsequently forwarded this email to Mr Zuk on 10 January 2022, and Mr Zuk forwarded the email to the League on 11 January 2022, requesting advice on any steps the Club needed to take in respect of the issue. This was the first occasion on which the League became aware of the existence of the Undisclosed Shareholders. It is the Club’s position that this was the first occasion on which members of the board of BICL and the Club itself, save for Messrs Conway and Lee and Ms Hung, became aware of the existence of the INA and the Undisclosed Shareholders. " I thought that we were told the existence of other unnamed shareholders came about when Dane Murphy let slip one day? Or have I misunderstood something
I would agree, and I thought there were multiple 'unnamed investors ' came to light when Neerav and JAQ ousted the gruesome twosome. In fact, weren't Mr & Mrs JAQ previously two of those unnamed actually?
Wonder why they have omitted the name of the party/company instructed to act on their behalf in the negotiations to purchase the club.
