Amer Abdulaziz Salman | Horse Racing Free Tips

Australian Racing Officials Launch Investigation Into Phoenix Over Cryptocurrency Allegations

Australian racing authorities have launched investigations into Phoenix Thoroughbreds based on allegations the ownership group may have been involved in money laundering, according to a report in The Sydney Morning Herald Thursday. Racing NSW, Racing Victoria, and Queensland Racing Integrity Commission spokespeople all told the Herald investigations are underway.

Racing Australia chair Greg Nichols told the Herald racing authorities had concerns the group's involvement could “compromise public confidence in our sport.”

Phoenix Thoroughbreds founder Amer Abdulaziz Salman was implicated by a witness in the course of federal court proceedings in the States. The witness stated Abdulaziz had been using Phoenix Investments to launder money siphoned from OneCoin. OneCoin purported to be a type of cryptocurrency akin to bitcoin, but investors ultimately saw their capital disappear.

Phoenix Fund Investments has denied all allegations against Abdulaziz, and he has not been charged with a crime or named by prosecutors as an unindicted co-conspirator.

Phoenix Thoroughbreds came onto the American racing scene in 2017, with Abdulaziz spending huge amounts for horses at public auction on the group's behalf. Phoenix was billed by Abdulaziz as the world's first investment fund for Thoroughbreds, designed to operate like a mutual fund. Abdulaziz would later admit the fund, which had been registered in Luxembourg, had been dissolved and never had any actual investors.

French racing authorities banned the ownership group from participating in racing there, and Phoenix announced in August it would voluntarily stop racing in Great Britain. Phoenix still has active racing licenses in the United States.

Phoenix Thoroughbreds Will Cease Racing In UK ‘For The Foreseeable Future’

Phoenix Thoroughbreds released a statement Tuesday announcing that the ownership group will cease racing operations in the United Kingdom immediately, according to the Racing Post. The group has racehorses with 11 different trainers in Britain.

“This has not been a decision we have taken lightly,” said Phoenix's founder Amer Abdulaziz Salman. “However, for the growth and wellbeing of our business and our partners internationally, we have taken the decision to leave the UK for the foreseeable future. It saddens me greatly to have to do this but at this juncture, we believe it is necessary. We would like to thank everyone who has helped us achieve our dreams so far.”

Abdulaziz was alleged in a New York court to be a money launderer for fake cryptocurrency OneCoin last year, and he has consistently declined to identify any investors in the Luxembourg-registered equine fund.

Prominent racing figures to have distanced themselves from Phoenix include: Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, trainer Martyn Meade, bloodstock advisor Dermot Farrington, and former vice-president and head of equine investments Tom Ludt.

Also on Tuesday, the Racing Post published a list of questions Phoenix has refused to answer, including queries about the money laundering allegations and the Luxembourg fund. Phoenix responded with a categorical denial of all the allegations against it, insisting they would “vigorously contest all allegations of wrongdoing.”

The post Phoenix Thoroughbreds Will Cease Racing In UK ‘For The Foreseeable Future’ appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Tom Ludt Leaves Phoenix Thoroughbreds

Tom Ludt, who joined Phoenix Thoroughbreds as head of U.S. operations in December of 2017, has left the company, Racing Post reported. According to Ludt, he accepted a termination agreement offered by Phoenix’s creator, Amer Abdulaziz Salman. Abdulaziz’s brainchild operates on multiple continents and has enjoyed Group 1/I success, but first came under investigation in November of 2019, as first reported by Racing Post.

Abdulaziz allegedly stole €100 million from sham cryptocurrency OneCoin-which he allegedly helped operate as an international Ponzi scheme-and reinvested those funds into thoroughbreds through Phoenix. The November investigation resulted in a guilty verdict for former lawyer Mark Scott on charges of fraud and laundering $400 million in illegal funds for OneCoin. Scott created Fenero Funds allegedly to route money between destinations.

Both Abdulaziz and Phoenix Thoroughbreds deny all allegations. After news of the investigation broke, Ludt asked Abdulaziz about the veracity of the allegations.

“[The Racing Post story] was the first I heard of [the allegations], so I was shocked,” Ludt told Racing Post. We had discussions afterwards and he [Abdulaziz] completely denied that he had anything to do with it. I don’t remember the exact dates but there was some dialogue and I point blank asked what the heck was going on because I’d spent the last two and a half years of my life travelling the world for this company and I didn’t want to get dragged down with a bad reputation.

“He’s continually denied it and he’s indicated he had investors from that company [Fenero] but never OneCoin. I’ve never been involved [in the fund], so I don’t know, but everything’s changed since then. I continued to ask him to do some interviews with the press to talk about it and he just wouldn’t do it. Everything changed when that came out.

“He told me that Mark Scott invested [in Phoenix] through Fenero, but that’s all I knew. He did not deny Fenero funds had gone into Phoenix.”

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