Gaydamak gives little away

SOCCER: Suave but secretive, Alexandre Gaydamak's informal first meeting with the British media yesterday gave nothing away.

Portsmouth's 29-year-old new co-owner provided no clear indication of how he made his money, none about how he intends to generate more from his involvement in the club and nothing about how he will spend it.

He dispensed handshakes with a warm smile but refused to engage his audience. Gaydamak, a smartly-dressed Franco-Russian, who has held business interests in Britain since taking up his directorship at Europitex as an 18-year-old in 1995, remained steadfastly silent over the provenance of his wealth.

The obvious question was whether it comes from his father Arkady, reportedly a billionaire, who shared a boardroom role in that London "marketing consultancy". But Gaydamak insists they have no current financial links, saying only of his own funds: "It is my money from 10 years of working. It is completely my money from working in finance and real estate."

He was equally unwilling to discuss events at Monarch Fiduciary, a firm dissolved in 2000 with an audited £259,260 debt to customs and excise. It is one of seven now defunct UK companies in which he has had a directorial interest.

"I am aware of the Monarch situation," he said. "My lawyers are dealing with it and, if they present a case, they will deal with it. It is not me owing. It is not that Fiduciary owes to the customs (but), if it is a matter that has to be dealt with, then it will be. I don't say it's £250,000. You are saying it's £250,000."

But for all Gaydamak's evasiveness, these are questions to which people such as the British sports minister Richard Caborn will seek answers. Caborn mobilised a council of Europe's sports ministers in December to draw up a code aimed at tackling corruption in football across the continent, and the recent history of Gaydamak's father will have alarmed the politicians who hope to clean up the game.

Arkady Gaydamak was detained earlier this week by Israeli authorities investigating allegations of money laundering, and an international arrest warrant issued in France is outstanding for his alleged involvement in the Angolan arms-for-oil scandal five years ago. Nonetheless his son remains insouciant about what such inquiries might discover. "My father's dealings, my father's businesses and mine are two completely separate issues," he said. "Therefore I don't foresee any link that can be done with it."

Would he perhaps instead give an idea of what he had paid Milan Mandaric to purchase a half share in the Fratton Park club? "The financial specifics of this transaction are a private matter between me and my colleague (Mandaric, who remains the chairman)." And future spending power? "I have discussed the budget with the chairman. It is a matter for me and the chairman."

Gaydamak did say that comparisons with Roman Abramovich are erroneous. ". . . I am in a different league. I am not like him. The comparison makes me uncomfortable. I am in a different league from Abramovich."

Although Pini Zahavi, the agent who took Abramovich to Stamford Bridge in 2003, also introduced Gaydamak to Portsmouth last month, he insists he does not know Chelsea's owner. That he does not have the Russian's £7.5 billion-plus riches either may dismay Pompey's fans. But that disappointment might be mitigated by his enthusiasm for them.

"You get involved in football for three reasons; sports, passion and the community," he said in an animated but well-practised passage of conversation. "For the passion aspect we have very unique, I believe probably the best, fans in the country. On the sports side we are in the Premiership, the best championship in the world, and that was very attractive to me. And for the community side I believe this club is a catalyst for the whole society."

One project is the conversion of the stadium into a 35,000-seat arena. But Gaydamak's quest for a "challenge" does not explain why a man would wish to plough millions into a club he has watched only once after conducting less than a month's due diligence on his investment. Perhaps Caborn and football's authorities may procure more revealing answers.

Guardian Serrvice