Tottenham Hotspur majority owner Joe Lewis has been indicted in the US over insider trading allegations.
US Attorney Damian Williams confirmed the charges in a video posted on Twitter where he said Lewis was the mastermind behind a “brazen insider trading scheme.”
The 86-year-old billionaire originally from Bow in East London, was accused of “classic corporate corruption.”
“Today I am announcing that my office, the Southern District of New York, has indicted Joe Lewis, the British billionaire, for orchestrating a brazen insider training scheme,” said Williams.
“We allege that for years Joe Lewis abused his access to corporate boardrooms and repeatedly provided inside information to his romantic partners, his personal assistants, his private pilots and his friends.”
Statement of U.S. Attorney Damian Williams on U.S. v. Joseph Lewis pic.twitter.com/9rGTTYVx6h
— US Attorney SDNY (@SDNYnews) July 25, 2023
Lewis’ English National Investment Company (ENIC) owns roughly 86% of the North London Premier League Club after Lewis bought a controlling stake from Alan Sugar for £22mln in 2001.
Currently, it is unclear whether his ownership of the club is under threat, given the Premier League owners’ and directors’ test is designed to stop people with criminal convictions from owning a club.
The 86 year old ceased to be a “person with significant control” after a reorganisation of the Lewis Family Trusts last year.