Tottenham distance themselves from Joe Lewis after insider trading charges
Tottenham have sought to make it plain that Joe Lewis is no longer the owner of the club after he was charged on Tuesday with insider trading by US federal prosecutors.
The 86-year-old Bahamas-based billionaire, who faces a 19-count indictment – 16 counts of securities fraud; three counts of conspiracy – was bailed by a judge in New York on Wednesday after pleading not guilty to charges of giving insider trading tips.
He stepped back from his publicly stated position at Spurs on 5 October 2022 in a move that was also signed off by the Premier League’s board. As such, the Premier League does not feel the need to take action against Spurs in response to the charges that have been brought against Lewis.
If convicted, the boy from London’s East End made good faces a lengthy jail sentence.
The change to the ownership structure at Spurs was not extensively reported on at the time but it has certainly come to feel more significant in the wake of events over the last 24 hours. Spurs are 86.58% owned by Enic and the investment company itself is 70.12% owned by the Lewis Family Trust. The Spurs chairman, Daniel Levy, and certain members of his family hold the other 29.88% of Enic.
As of 5 October, Lewis ceased to be a part of the trust – even though it retained his name – or to be a beneficiary of it. Two trustees were appointed to run it on behalf of his family. They are Bryan Antoine Glinton and Katie Louise Booth; Bahamas-based lawyers with no background in football. The changes with regard to persons of “significant control” at Spurs were recorded at Companies House.
Lewis has always entrusted Levy with the day-to-day running of the club and rarely gets involved in the decision-making. He is mentioned infrequently on the
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