The BHA wouldn’t dare subject the Sheikh to its ‘fit and proper’ person test but he would be far from certain to pass
It is probably fair to say that when the British Horseracing Authority drew up its “fit and proper” criteria for prospective racehorse owners, the regulators had gangsters and money-launderers in mind, not foreign heads of state. Nonetheless, in the light of Thursday’s finding by a family court judge that Sheikh Mohammed arranged the abduction and imprisonment of two of his daughters, the implications of point 9(c) in the section headed “Honesty and Integrity” are difficult to avoid.
“The criteria to which the authority will have regard in assessing honesty and integrity,” it says, “include … whether the applicant has been the subject of any adverse finding by a judge in any civil proceedings.” An earlier passage relating to criminal convictions, meanwhile, says that “particular consideration will be given to offences of dishonesty, fraud, and those relating to sexual conduct, violence, animal welfare and health and safety.”
Written by Greg Wood
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/mar/06/sheikh-mohammeds-disgrace-may-begin-end-of-his-horse-racing-love-affair under the title “
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