By Matt Smith and David French
DUBAI (Reuters) – A former managing director of English Championship club Leeds United has been arrested in Dubai on charges of embezzling 23.7 million dirhams ($6.45 million) from an investment bank he used to work for, the emirateâ??s police force said in a statement.
David Haigh, who until March was deputy chief executive of Dubai-based GFH Capital, a unit of Bahrainâ??s Gulf Finance House, has been referred to Dubaiâ??s public prosecutor for trial.
“The company discovered the legal irregularities committed by Haigh when it conducted its annual internal accounting audit,” a Dubai police statement to the United Arab Emiratesâ?? state news agency WAM said.
Haigh was at the forefront of GFH Capital’s purchase of Leeds United, which plays in England’s second tier, in December 2012, although the Dubai firmâ??s tenure at Elland Road proved fleeting.
GFH Capital last month sold 75 percent of Leeds to Italian Massimo Cellino, retaining the remaining 25 percent.
Haigh worked for GFH Capital from December 2007 to March 2014, according to his LinkedIn profile.
In a separate statement, GFH Capital said Haighâ??s arrest was not related to the sale to Cellino.
(Reporting by Matt Smith and David French in Dubai; editing by Mike Collett)
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