Joe Lewis has been indicted in the US for “orchestrating a brazen insider trading scheme”.
Lewis has been charged by New York prosecutors with 16 counts of securities fraud and three counts of conspiracy.
The billionaire is alleged to have “abused his access to corporate board rooms and repeatedly provided inside information” in order to “shower gifts on his friends and lovers”.
Lewis denies the charges and has pleaded not guilty.
Here, Standard Sport looks at whether it could impact Tottenham.
What does Lewis’ US indictment mean for Spurs?
Tottenham hope that any impact from Lewis’ US case will remain minimal, given the 86-year-old relinquished ownership of the club in October last year.
The billionaire also ended any interest in ENIC, the company that owns Spurs.
Tottenham will not face any Premier League repercussions even if Lewis were to be convicted. Lewis no longer falls under the powers of the Premier League’s owners’ and directors’ tests, and English top-flight chiefs are thought to be satisfied there is no link to Spurs.
So if not Lewis, then who owns Tottenham now?
Lewis stepped down in October from the Lewis Family Trusts, the body owning shares in Spurs. The Lewis Family Trusts own more than 70 per cent of ENIC, the company holding an 86 per cent stake in Tottenham.
Spurs chairman Daniel Levy and other members of Lewis’ family hold the remaining stake in ENIC.
Bahamas-based lawyer Bryan Antoine Glinton and Katie Louise Booth were appointed persons of significant control in Tottenham Hotspur Limited after Lewis stepped down in October.
What might this mean for any possible sale of the club?
While any potential investors or would-be buyers of Tottenham will be justified in asking exhaustive questions on the latest situation regarding the former owner, the Premier League’s position could prove pivotal.
Tottenham have set out their stall clearly in stating that Lewis’ court case is a private matter and not for the club to make any comment.
The Premier League’s satisfaction that Tottenham would not be subject to any penalty or sanction could ultimately override all other concerns when it comes to a possible club sale.
Could this impact cashflow at Tottenham?
The ownership changes made in October leave Tottenham operating as normal, with no signs for that to change.
Lewis could clearly suffer greatly from a trial where 13 of the charges against him could carry 20-year jail terms. But Spurs are able to press on with business as usual with no signs of that changing for now.
What happens now?
Lewis has entered a not guilty plea so will now await trial, and the opportunity to clear his name, having travelled to the US voluntarily to contest the allegations.
Tottenham will continue preparations for the new Premier League season.
A Tottenham spokesperson said: “This is a legal matter unconnected with the club and as such we have no comment.”
Lewis’s lawyer David M. Zornow said in a statement to Standard Sport before his not guilty plea: "The government has made an egregious error in judgment in charging Mr. Lewis, an 86-year-old man of impeccable integrity and prodigious accomplishment. Mr. Lewis has come to the US voluntarily to answer these ill-conceived charges, and we will defend him vigorously in court.”
