PAI Capital – currently attempting to take over West Ham is funded by an Azerbaijani millionaire currently embroiled in a “bitter legal dispute” over allegations of corruption in the former Soviet republic.
The Athletic repeats that the consortium has made a rejected bid of £400 million for the club and that majority shareholder David Sullivan has dismissed the offer, describing it as “derisory”, and claimed the London-based group “never produced any proof of funds”.
However, the declare that in a statement issued to The Athletic PAI Capital said: “PAI and our legal counsel did submit a proof of funds to West Ham’s owners, and funds for the purchase are directly accessible, subject to a commercial agreement being reached with the current owners.”
The Athletic, claims now however that it  understands  Sullivan and his fellow shareholders, long-term business partner David Gold and American investor Albert “Tripp” Smith, are not convinced PAI Capital actually have the money.
The Athletic says this is because Capital’s founder is Nasib Piriyev, the son of Nizami Piriyev, a businessman who was arrested by the Azerbaijani authorities in May 2015. The Azerbaijan government also issued an Interpol arrest notice for Nasib Piriyev, who has been based in London for several years.
The Athletic says  the Piriyevs claim these actions were politically motivated and deny all wrongdoing but that the legal battle is far from over.
“Those bogus allegations against my family were part of the government-sponsored corporate raid of our assets in the country,” Nasib Piriyev told The Athletic.
“We are in the middle of a bitter legal dispute with the state-owned entities and it involves significantly valued industrial assets, so I really cannot tell you much about this now.”
When asked if this dispute would cause issues with the Premier League’s Owners’ and Directors’ Test, Nasib Piriyev said: “We are well prepared for those questions — our legal counsel and industry consultants have prepared our documents and are sure we pass the fit and proper test with flying colours.”
Neither he nor PAI Capital were able to answer if they are free to travel to Azerbaijan or do business there.
The family’s main business is PNN Group, the company Nizami Piriyev set up in 1993 after he had made his name as an executive at Russian energy giant Gazprom. According to its website, PNN has businesses across the former Soviet Union and Afghanistan, with interests in the energy, finance, food, luxury and media sectors.
PAI Capital was set up in London earlier this year and its website lists three relatively modest investments — in China, Nigeria and Switzerland — that were made by its parent company PAI International. PAI Capital assured The Athletic it has “several more investments in the project pipeline”.
One of PAI Capital’s partners is London-based lawyer Chris Cleverly, the cousin of government minister and former Conservative Party chairman James Cleverly. Chris Cleverly, a former dancer, is an investor in a company that owns cannabis plantations in Sierra Leone and has a licence to develop cannabis-based medicines.
The PAI Capital spokesperson confirmed Cleverly has invested in the cannabis sector “in his capacity as a partner of PAI Capital”.
Nasib Piriyev, a 40-year-old entrepreneur, who went to private school in Oxford and the American International University in London, is a co-founder and partner of both PAI Capital and PAI International but British banker Paul Mills is listed at Companies House as the person with significant control. The PAI Capital spokesperson said Mills is “an advisor and confidant of the Piriyevs and holds various family assets in trust”.
The Piriyevs have attracted British media interest before, most notably when they flew former British prime minister Tony Blair to Azerbaijan in 2009 to open a new methanol plant, while Nasib Piriyev has sponsored several polo events, including one that saw Prince Harry and Prince William compete against each other in 2014.
The Athletic clIMS IT understands that the stadium, which West Ham lease on very attractive terms, and the park are central to PAI Capital’s strategy for the club. In fact, Sullivan suggested the group has “zero interest in the football side and saw it as a property move”.
ClaretandHugh says: So the drama goes on and on and no doubt there will be  more on the way before the latest football takeover story is done. Congratulations go to The Athletic for a fine piece of journalism and the fact that they have been to the forefront of this story since Day One. Currently, of course, PAI’s activities in negotiating with the owners of the stadium, are based on the hypothetical assumption that they will gain control of West Ham but that scenario is clearly a very long way off if it happens at all. West Ham are making it clear there will be no deal with PAI but that were seriously wealthy people to emerge then it’s possible they would sell. One thing is for sure, however, as Blind Hammer, writes elsewhere on the site, none of this can be helping the club’s preparations for the new season as the supporter base again becomes divided.. And as he says: Only at West Ham can such things happen!”