Pippo Russo: a mistery called Doyen - Part 2
Following Doyen Group’s money fluxes can become quite a difficult exercise, especially if you are working on an investigative journalism report. In this case, by the way, it’s not only difficult to follow Doyen’s money, but also to trace some affordable information about the fund.
After a showy debut in the Spanish football market, Doyen have opted for a low profile communication model.
I had a first hand experience about it, when I was writing my book “Gol di Rapina. Il lato oscuro del calico globale”.
At the beginning of my researches, I had the chance to consult some public sources, such as Wikipedia or Doyen’s official website, than something strange happened. After a few days Doyen’s Wikipedia page disappeared from the web. For some time, articles were still available at the “Articles for Deletion” section, but today it does not contain any more information.
The fund’s official website is actually lacking in information too, while the address www.doyenlamerica.com, which is dedicated to the Latin American market, has evaporated as well.
Doyen’s only mark on the web is a Doyen Capital LLP page on Linkedin. Here, there is another link, www.doycap.com, which actually doesn’t work.
Luckily, during my researches I have saved Doyen’s Wikipedia page when it was still active. That’s the reason why, today, we can have some information about the holding referring to Doyen Sports Investments
The Wikipedia page that used to be on line some years ago (last update 20th of October 2012 at 1.30 pm) stated that Doyen Group is based in Istanbul, while the economic headquarter is in London (Doyen Capital LLP) and the Sport Department is settled in Malta. This last department is actually the only one with a reliable, consultable website.
Again, according to the Wikipedia page, it is said that Doyen Capital works in joint venture with NuCap Limited, a company funded in 2009 and specializing in “global commodity training”. Doyen Capital also refers to the luxury hotel chain Rixos Hotels, the Turkish Building Company Sembol Constructions and the Polish Efir Energy, specializing in oilfield services.
In the current Doyen Group website (http://www.doyen-group.com/), they present themselves as:
“ A private investment and trading organisation with operations in emerging markets. The group’s global outreach spans geographies such as Africa, Latin America, Turkey, Middle East, the CIS and Asia. Doyen’s emphasis is on long-term & strategic partnerships that are based on mutual trust and integrity.”
The group has interest in four sectors: Commodities, Business, Building (included hotels and real estate), Sport & Entertainment.
In the previous version of the website, there were two more sectors, that the fund was interested in: Metals and Minerals, Gas and Hydrocarbon. Digging deeper, we can learn that Doyen Group used to invest and commercialize fertilizers, precious metals, carbon, even uranium and of course football players’ economic rights. Some of these areas of investments are also mentioned in the current Linkedin page of the group.
As you can imagine, having information about Doyen’s financers can be hard too. A Bloomberg’s article published in 2003 involved two names with the fund’s interests. The first one is Fettah Tamince, a Turkish entrepreneur heading a luxury hotel chain. He also controls Stars Media Group, an important media company particularly influential in the area between Europe and Asia.
It is known that Fettah Tamince is very close with Turkish President Racep Tayyip Erdogan and that in April 2013 the businessman sold the 50% of Stars Media Company to SOCAR, an Azerbaijani oil group.
Casually, just three months earlier the Tourism Ministry of Azerbaijan agreed a sponsorship deal which is still in progress with Atletico Madrid, one of the closest clubs with Doyen.
The other alleged financer is a Kazaki businessman, naturalized Turkish, Teyfik Arif. He funded the real estate giant Bayrock Group, as well as being Donald Trump’s associate for a long time. Arif’s name has been quite popular among gossip magazines and newspapers, not only for his ritzy and luscious wedding party in Sardinia in 2013 but because some years earlier, in September 2010, Teyfik Arif was arrested on the “Mustafa Ataturk” yacht, after a spectacular aerial blitz by the Turkish police. It was reported that the entrepreneur loaned the “Mustafa Ataturk” from the Turkish Government, that is free to concede it to any moneyed people who can afford it. That day he had organized a private party in the yacht with other Eastern European businessmen and police arrested the majority of them with “very serious” charges.
As it was reported in a New York Daily News article, there were nine models attending the party, paid between $ 3.000 and $ 10.000 each. Among these nine models, two were reported to be underage. Arif, by the way, was acquitted after a long trial.
So far, that’s everything we managed to find out about the Doyen Group, the holding controlling to Doyen Sports Investments. As you can see information is sparse and insufficient, especially for involving a fund with so many interests. Is it possible that the financiers of the whole group are purely Arif and Tamince? Is Doyen Group using any other capital? If so, who does this capital belong to? After Doyen’s entry into Spanish football in 2011 and its imminent approach to the Italian football market, it would be appropriate to get some more transparency and clear information about Doyen, as well as their funds and policies.
After a showy debut in the Spanish football market, Doyen have opted for a low profile communication model.
I had a first hand experience about it, when I was writing my book “Gol di Rapina. Il lato oscuro del calico globale”.
At the beginning of my researches, I had the chance to consult some public sources, such as Wikipedia or Doyen’s official website, than something strange happened. After a few days Doyen’s Wikipedia page disappeared from the web. For some time, articles were still available at the “Articles for Deletion” section, but today it does not contain any more information.
The fund’s official website is actually lacking in information too, while the address www.doyenlamerica.com, which is dedicated to the Latin American market, has evaporated as well.
Doyen’s only mark on the web is a Doyen Capital LLP page on Linkedin. Here, there is another link, www.doycap.com, which actually doesn’t work.
Luckily, during my researches I have saved Doyen’s Wikipedia page when it was still active. That’s the reason why, today, we can have some information about the holding referring to Doyen Sports Investments
The Wikipedia page that used to be on line some years ago (last update 20th of October 2012 at 1.30 pm) stated that Doyen Group is based in Istanbul, while the economic headquarter is in London (Doyen Capital LLP) and the Sport Department is settled in Malta. This last department is actually the only one with a reliable, consultable website.
Again, according to the Wikipedia page, it is said that Doyen Capital works in joint venture with NuCap Limited, a company funded in 2009 and specializing in “global commodity training”. Doyen Capital also refers to the luxury hotel chain Rixos Hotels, the Turkish Building Company Sembol Constructions and the Polish Efir Energy, specializing in oilfield services.
In the current Doyen Group website (http://www.doyen-group.com/), they present themselves as:
“ A private investment and trading organisation with operations in emerging markets. The group’s global outreach spans geographies such as Africa, Latin America, Turkey, Middle East, the CIS and Asia. Doyen’s emphasis is on long-term & strategic partnerships that are based on mutual trust and integrity.”
The group has interest in four sectors: Commodities, Business, Building (included hotels and real estate), Sport & Entertainment.
In the previous version of the website, there were two more sectors, that the fund was interested in: Metals and Minerals, Gas and Hydrocarbon. Digging deeper, we can learn that Doyen Group used to invest and commercialize fertilizers, precious metals, carbon, even uranium and of course football players’ economic rights. Some of these areas of investments are also mentioned in the current Linkedin page of the group.
As you can imagine, having information about Doyen’s financers can be hard too. A Bloomberg’s article published in 2003 involved two names with the fund’s interests. The first one is Fettah Tamince, a Turkish entrepreneur heading a luxury hotel chain. He also controls Stars Media Group, an important media company particularly influential in the area between Europe and Asia.
It is known that Fettah Tamince is very close with Turkish President Racep Tayyip Erdogan and that in April 2013 the businessman sold the 50% of Stars Media Company to SOCAR, an Azerbaijani oil group.
Casually, just three months earlier the Tourism Ministry of Azerbaijan agreed a sponsorship deal which is still in progress with Atletico Madrid, one of the closest clubs with Doyen.
The other alleged financer is a Kazaki businessman, naturalized Turkish, Teyfik Arif. He funded the real estate giant Bayrock Group, as well as being Donald Trump’s associate for a long time. Arif’s name has been quite popular among gossip magazines and newspapers, not only for his ritzy and luscious wedding party in Sardinia in 2013 but because some years earlier, in September 2010, Teyfik Arif was arrested on the “Mustafa Ataturk” yacht, after a spectacular aerial blitz by the Turkish police. It was reported that the entrepreneur loaned the “Mustafa Ataturk” from the Turkish Government, that is free to concede it to any moneyed people who can afford it. That day he had organized a private party in the yacht with other Eastern European businessmen and police arrested the majority of them with “very serious” charges.
As it was reported in a New York Daily News article, there were nine models attending the party, paid between $ 3.000 and $ 10.000 each. Among these nine models, two were reported to be underage. Arif, by the way, was acquitted after a long trial.
So far, that’s everything we managed to find out about the Doyen Group, the holding controlling to Doyen Sports Investments. As you can see information is sparse and insufficient, especially for involving a fund with so many interests. Is it possible that the financiers of the whole group are purely Arif and Tamince? Is Doyen Group using any other capital? If so, who does this capital belong to? After Doyen’s entry into Spanish football in 2011 and its imminent approach to the Italian football market, it would be appropriate to get some more transparency and clear information about Doyen, as well as their funds and policies.
