A top football agent has been found not guilty of sending threatening emails to former Chelsea football manager Marina Granovskaya, who is described as Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich’s “right-hand man”.
The agent, Saif Albee, 45, was found not guilty by a jury of seven men and five women at Southwark Crown Court on Monday. After more than four hours of deliberations, the jury unanimously found him not guilty of sending an “electronic communication with the intent to cause distress or anxiety.”
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Albee said it would be “suicidal” to threaten the aides of Abramovich, who was sanctioned by the UK government in March 2022 for his “obvious links” to the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Was. He was facing up to two years in prison for violating the 1988 Malicious Communications Act.
After hearing the verdict, Albee leaned forward and covered his face with his hands. Sobbing could be heard from family members sitting in the public gallery.
The verdict brings to an end a high-profile case that revealed the sometimes murky and colorful world of football agents.
In the trial, one of the prosecution’s key witnesses, prominent football agent Kia Joorabchian, said on the first day of the trial that he secretly flew to the United States on a private jet despite being ordered to do so. After that, he did not submit any evidence.” His lawyer said he wanted to present himself as a witness.
It also included repeated accusations by Arruby that Granovskaya was a “liar.” Talk about high level security his team. and an evocative account of how debts are settled in a world where contracts worth hundreds of thousands of pounds in fees appear to have been agreed by vague messages on WhatsApp.
The email that brought Albier to court was sent to Granovskaya in May 2022, in which she claimed to have played a role in the transfer of French defender Kurt Zouma from Chelsea to West Ham in 2021. He was asking for payment of the price. He had to pay several hundred thousand in fees.
Albier wrote to Granovskaya: “In summary, you owe me and my partner 300,000 and you have to pay it as soon as possible. If Chelsea doesn’t pay it, that debt will be paid by you. I have made an effort to be kind to you.
“I’m sure you’ve heard the story about how your other friend Kia loaned me money for a year and how she paid it off. I don’t want you to be in the same situation.”
The message comes as part of an effort to put pressure on Joe Labussian, who in 2013 claims he confronted about a dozen debt collectors at his office and had his expensive watch taken from him at a restaurant. It is said that he is referring to the incident. He is currently repaying money allegedly owed to Albee.
Mr Albee told the jury he had nothing to do with the 2013 incident, but when interviewed by police in September 2022 he said:[Joorabchian] owe something [me] Around £50,000 a year…he was spotted having dinner with the Brazilian football team and one of my old colleagues has already approached him and Kia…because he borrowed money… Because I knew you were there, he said. I’ll pay, I’ll pay, I’ll pay. ” However, Kia apparently avoided paying for a while and ended up handing over the watch itself. ”
Mr Albee told the jury there were two episodes, and that during police interrogation he was talking about incidents from around 2009 or 2010.
