Alexandre Gaydamak
Encyclopedia
Alexandre "Sacha" Gaydamak is a French
businessman of Russia
n Ashkenazi Jewish descent, and also holds an Israel
i passport. A member of the wealthy Gaydamak family, he is the son of Arcadi Gaydamak
.
In January 2006 he announced that he was following his father into association football club ownership by becoming co-owner of English Premier League club Portsmouth F.C.
with Milan Mandarić
.
His father is the owner of Israel
i side Beitar Jerusalem. In July 2006 Alexandre Gaydamak became the sole owner of Portsmouth, although Mandaric remained at the club as non-executive chairman until later that year. Gaydamak owns a Luxembourg
based company, Belvia S.a.r.l. and a British Virgin Islands
company, Devondale Investments, which owned Portsmouth F.C.
On 21 July 2009, Gaydamak agreed to sell Portsmouth F.C.
to Sulaiman Al Fahim in principle, and therefore stepped down from the board. He remained the owner of the club until the details of the sale had been finalised on 8 June 2009.
Gaydamak has been alleged to have asset stripped Portsmouth F.C.
prior to this sale and yet still retains a claim, said to be £32,000,000, against the club as a creditor despite the huge debts at the provincial club. Investigations into these allegations are ongoing. The current whereabouts of Gaydamak are unknown; several supporters' groups have called on Gaydamak to come forward and answer these allegations but no response has been received.
On the 22nd October 2010 Gaydamak's business acumen came into question after reports of him demanding a "ransom" payment from his former club Portsmouth for an apparent £2.5million. It seems that he was unsure that his unpaid debt would be repaid. The case was made more embarrassing after Portsmouth F.C had received confirmation several times from Gaydamak himself that the terms were agreed and that he was a secured creditor meaning that not only would be paid in full, but he would also be paid before many unsecured creditors who are set to only receive 20p to the pound. Because of this he puts the club, that he used to own, in jeopardy of going into liquidation causing many supporter groups of the club wanting a quick resolution.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
businessman of Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n Ashkenazi Jewish descent, and also holds an Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i passport. A member of the wealthy Gaydamak family, he is the son of Arcadi Gaydamak
Arcadi Gaydamak
Arcadi Aleksandrovich Gaydamak, is a Russian-Israeli businessman, who was awarded the Order of the Legion of Honour. On April 29, 2011 the Court of Appeal in Paris acquitted him of charges of arms dealing...
.
In January 2006 he announced that he was following his father into association football club ownership by becoming co-owner of English Premier League club Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...
with Milan Mandarić
Milan Mandaric
Milan Mandarić is a Serbian-American business tycoon who has owned a string of successful businesses and football clubs including Portsmouth, Leicester City and Sheffield Wednesday. He currently is the chairman of Sheffield Wednesday...
.
His father is the owner of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i side Beitar Jerusalem. In July 2006 Alexandre Gaydamak became the sole owner of Portsmouth, although Mandaric remained at the club as non-executive chairman until later that year. Gaydamak owns a Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
based company, Belvia S.a.r.l. and a British Virgin Islands
British Virgin Islands
The Virgin Islands, often called the British Virgin Islands , is a British overseas territory and overseas territory of the European Union, located in the Caribbean to the east of Puerto Rico. The islands make up part of the Virgin Islands archipelago, the remaining islands constituting the U.S...
company, Devondale Investments, which owned Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...
On 21 July 2009, Gaydamak agreed to sell Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...
to Sulaiman Al Fahim in principle, and therefore stepped down from the board. He remained the owner of the club until the details of the sale had been finalised on 8 June 2009.
Gaydamak has been alleged to have asset stripped Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...
prior to this sale and yet still retains a claim, said to be £32,000,000, against the club as a creditor despite the huge debts at the provincial club. Investigations into these allegations are ongoing. The current whereabouts of Gaydamak are unknown; several supporters' groups have called on Gaydamak to come forward and answer these allegations but no response has been received.
On the 22nd October 2010 Gaydamak's business acumen came into question after reports of him demanding a "ransom" payment from his former club Portsmouth for an apparent £2.5million. It seems that he was unsure that his unpaid debt would be repaid. The case was made more embarrassing after Portsmouth F.C had received confirmation several times from Gaydamak himself that the terms were agreed and that he was a secured creditor meaning that not only would be paid in full, but he would also be paid before many unsecured creditors who are set to only receive 20p to the pound. Because of this he puts the club, that he used to own, in jeopardy of going into liquidation causing many supporter groups of the club wanting a quick resolution.